


Der Titanenschrei (The titan's scream)

by jenny95k



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Biological Weapons, Character Death, Crossdressing, Family Drama, Female Hange Zoë, Human Biology, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rebellion, Revenge, Self-Hatred, Telepathy, Titan Eren Yeager, Titan Shifters, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2019-11-03 21:12:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 110,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17885315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenny95k/pseuds/jenny95k
Summary: What is the point if those with the means and power do not fight ?- Eren JeagerIn a world where titans are the ultimate production created by men, unfortunately no one expected that their creations would rebel against them, that in the end, the titans would create a new people ready to fight for their freedom.





	1. The Ymir Serum

Paradis Island 2095…

 

_Töte… sie… alle… (Kill… them… all… )_

 

Three words that occupied his entire mind and leaded any action. Arms, legs, teeth… any centimeters of the body seemed to be made only to satisfy that need. Any move, any breath, any step made… made that need stronger. Any cell of the body screamed for blood.

The blood of the three guards in the corridor, the blood of all the scientists and doctors who dared to get in the way.

Ignoring the pain in the body was hard, due to the effort, all the body felt like it was been ripping apart, but the resisting now was everything. There was no way back, it was the only chance gotten. No second opportunity. No backup plan. Just one single opportunity that couldn’t be wasted.

 

“Hey !! Over here !!” Shouted a voice behind “Shoot !!”

 

Five guards, five assault rifles RN, all of them pointed on one target. Fantastic. It was a good thing having developed the hardening ability in moment like that. Unfortunately it would require an huge amount on energy, but there was no more time to waste in fighting. You couldn’t win by remaining in defense, but it saved time. The entire body harden, the bullet couldn’t even touch the skin under the thick layer of crystal. It won’t last for long, but enough to outdistance those five men as long as it needed. Of course, the thirst for blood, the need to follow the order…

 

_Komm zurück… Krieger… töte… sue… alle… keine überlebenden (Come back… warrior… kill… them… all… no survivors…)_

 

Those five men wouldn’t live long, but now it wasn’t the time to attack them. The Experiment Facility was close, there no one would dare to enter, not in five, or in six or in hundreds. The beasts inside that place scared even the strongest of the warrior, no one dared to enter by that door. No one stupid at least. Luckily, the survival instinct was able to prevail even the stupidity. The doors could only be opened with a sequence of number, but someone with a super strength could easily team them down. A few centimeters away from the doors, when the sound of gunfire and screaming behind grew louder, then all it took was a bitten finger to resolve all the problem.

Pain. A thunder. Then one of the arm grew in size, length and strength, enough to brake the doors, not enough to block the passage, enough to discourage the guards behind to stop. With a rush of adrenaline, tearing off the hand from that arm was easy.Less easy was starting to run again, the head was spinning, arms ached and the nose was bleeding. The conditions to stay in the Experiment Facility weren’t the best, considering that that room was full of Titans.

Titans were a race of giant man-eating humanoids monsters, created in the laboratories on the upper floors. If the memory didn’t deceive, there were ten pure Titans, six Abnormal Titans awaken. They were there because they were supposed to be experimented on one hour ago, but no one predicted that that day… everything was going to change. From the sounds upper, there were forty men above ready to shoot and that could be used as an advantage. Titans were focused more on that arm that locked the door and on the men above to pay attention to the idiot who was running near their fear. Also, the Titans could be used as shields. For once in their useless existence they could be useful after all. Titans weren’t intelligent, their actions were driven by their own instinct. The need of hunting and the need of sleeping.

The only problem now was to open the door on the other side of the room. The nose was still bleeding and using another time the ability to open the doors was…

 

_Ein… Titan… wird… sie… öffnen… (One… Titan… will… open them…)_

 

Right, the Titans had an owner after all, surely it wasn’t the Marley Corporation’s President. There was an abnormal Titan near, it only took a scream to caught its attention. The abnormal Titan positioned himself at the side, using his body as shield, then it ran ahead, faster and faster, smashing its giant head against the doors in front of him. That alarmed all the forty men above, it was possible hearing one of them alarming other colleagues and most of them went away. The abnormal Titan was in front of the passage, bullets couldn’t kill him so there they were useless. With a quick momentum, it was possible to cross the passage passing under the giant’s legs. There was a long corridor, where there was a door that could be easily opened. From that door, were removed the subjects doom to turn themselves into Pure Titans. Since the metamorphosis was quick, it was more rapid breeding them out from that door and pushed it in the Experiment Facility room with the other Titans. It wasn’t required a key or a code, because no one was dumb enough to pass from there. Until that moment.

The underground laboratory. There weren’t many facilities inside it, there was only one medical bed with restraints. Cupboard and shelves full of dust and test tubes containing the strangest liquids. There was a table with syringes and medical equipments and a desk with some papers on the surface. In one of the drawers there were other documents, under all of them there was a key that opened the most important room of the entire building.

 

_Fast dort… freiheit… war… noch… nie… so… nah (Almost there… Freedom… never… been… so… close…)_

 

The race for freedom had just begun.

 

…

 

 

Marley 2068…

 

‘Finally I can take a break’

Mr Willy Tybur was alone in his office, that was messier than usual, due to the amount of papers he’d delayed to read or complicated during the last two weeks.

Blond and straight hair, going down to.a shoulder length and styled over his right ear, behind his left where it is shorter. Short beard styled as a goatee. Soft features, but with a pronounced jawline. Dark eyes.

Elegant, expensive, dark suit.

A body, a posture and a facial expression that screamed confidence, charisma and power.

He was the President of Marley Corporation, so he was obliged to waste his precious time in pleasantries like attend party and conferences all over the world, when in reality he couldn’t care less about them.

There was only one tormenting though in his head recently, the Ymir serum.

The Ymir serum was an exceptional creation elaborated by his company that, if used correctly, would be a source of pride and success for your company and for his name.

His assistant told him that one report was submitted by Erin Kruger just the other day.

Eren Kruger was one of the best scientists in his corporation, with Grisha Yeager. The Ymir serum was an idea of their and although Willy was hesitant at the begin, he quickly realized that his Corporation needed to be more competitive on the market and the only way to do so was simply, creating a new product never imagined before. A product no one could compete with, a single product valid and efficient, so efficient to be able to be used in more than one field, to resolve more than one problem.

It was a bet that Willy couldn’t afford to lose. There was too much at stake after all. Of course no one other Kruger, Yeager, their collaborators and himself knew about it. The project was reserved that Tybur asked to them to handwrite any report and not to write anything on their computer. Maybe he was paranoid but Willy truly believe that he could give start to a new age with this serum.

He sat behind his desk, full of expectations, and began to search for Krueger’s report. When he found it he began to read it.

 

**Report 01 - PROJECT TITAN - 12/03/2068**

**Eren Kruger**

 

_According to the recent datas, it can confirm with absolute certainty that we can officially star Ymir project. The new gene discovered thanks to our latest experiments on various animals and plants confirmed that we can now proceeded with human experimentation._

_We used the Ymir serum on various kind of animals, the 50% showed to be able to survive only absorbing sunlight, without eating food or drinking water. Also, the other 40% part of them, proved to be able to delay the aging process.Of these subjects the 20% of them developed peculiar abilities that we’re monitoring all time. Of them, the 50% are stronger, the other26% has the ability of healing quickly, not matter how sever the wound can be. The remaining 14% show abnormal behavior we’re still trying to understand completely._

_The same is happening with plants, but the results are more evident on animals._

_The Ymir serum has been elaborated with spinal human fluid andtotipotent cells, specially plant totipotent cells. It’s general opinion that the healing ability is due to the totipotent cells, indeed, one single vegetal cell has the ability to regenerate an entire individual. A plant, differently from animals, never ceases to grow up. If it receives, the appropriate quantity of aliments, it’s capable of growing up for its whole life. We injected it on animals to see if these two main elements can be accepted into another organism._

_The virus Ymir is now ready to be used for human experimentation, even though we can’t predict it would show the same effects on humans. We only wait the permission of our President._

_Unfortunately the 10% of the subjects died few hours after the injection. Once the serum comes into contact with an organism’ cells and infects them, it inserts special genes into the host’s genome to merge with it. The success of the merge deepened on the compatibility between the host’s genome and the serum._

__

 

‘Not bad’ thought Willy Tybur finishing to read the report. Krueger and Grisha had been working on Ymir serum for one year and three months. It took eight months to worked out a first serum prototype, that they called Ymir, a sort of queen fighter of an old legend Willy didn’t remember anything about. Well, the name wasn’t important, but if it worked.

Mr Tybur gave them the permission to prove the serum on animals and plants and those were the results.

Not bad, but not excellent.

The serum didn’t cause the same symptoms or abilities in all the guinea pigs, which meant that the effects couldn’t be predictable at 100%. Only few of them developed special abilities, but why couldn’t all have the same ?

What worried Tybur the most was the ‘abnormal behavior’. He should ask Krueger more detailed reports about it.

Well, collateral effects had to be expected and in that case it amounted to the 14%. Still, the guinea pigs that had demonstrated some peculiarity was few. At least the Ymir serum wasn’t a complete waste of his time. The results weren’t excellent, but for a first prototype wasn’t bad enough. He was also determinate to give Kruger and Yeager the permission for human experimentation. They needed to hurry up in their researches. After animals and plants weren’t the main target, but humans. As soon as the Ymir serum would be used on humans, as soon it could be improved. 

It was in that moment that Willy Tybur began to realize that maybe, maybe, that could be the begin of a new world. If he ignored the abnormal behavior and the 10% of dead, the Ymir serum permitted the development of brilliant abilities. Maybe it was too early to get excited, but if it worked, maybe the Ymir serum could be used for… greater purposes no one had accomplished until now.

He couldn’t stop smirking at the one idea of it. A new world to share with his sister Lyla.

 

…

 

Paradis Island 2085…

 

In the underground laboratory there was anything else useful. Or maybe there was a spray medic somewhere. Healing ability was already curing some wounds, but maybe a spray could quick the process. It was a mere hope, but for the moment it was saved enough. One was found in one of the furnitures inside the laboratory. There were various wounds all over the body but the spray was enough to quick the healing process. Once it was finished, the bottle was thrown on the floor and the race began again. There were two door in the underground laboratory, one of them leaded toward the stairs for laboratories located on the upper floors, the other door leaded toward corridors where there were cages used to restrict animal subjects.

 

_Zweite… tür… geh… zum… Aufzug… (Second… door… go to… the… elevator…)_

 

That was right. All the laboratory inside the building were connected by the stairs, so before to open the other door, it was necessary block the other entrance for the undergoing laboratory. It would be long before armed soldiers arrived there. Blocking a possible escape wasn’t bad, there was always the passage forthe experiment facilities. For the moment, it was necessary using the hardening ability again, even though it would cost more energy.Nothing could break the thick layer of crystal that blocked the door, not if the tried to destroy it on the opposite side. That was good, now it was necessary reaching the elevator. Quickly entered in the other door, at the left there were cages with animals inside. Apparently they looked normal, but it was possible feel the Ymir serum inside them… they would obey any command… they would die to protect a similar of them… animal or human and in that moment a diversion was welcome. Someone was waiting at the end of the corridor in front of the elevator. It was possible hearing their breath, their slightest movements, the tapping of their fingers of their rifles.

Well, well, the glass of the cages couldn’t be brake easily, most of the animals inside it were injected with the Ymir serum. Most of them probably were even under anesthetic. One look at the inside of the cage and it was possible to notice a gas inside it. No anesthetic lasted for more than five minutes, that was due to the Ymir serum. No drugs, or alcohol, or medicine couldn’t be metabolized quickly. It was possible hearing the sound of three valves were inserted into the ventilation ducts in the cell. The gas came from there. It wasn’t necessary brake the glass completely, one crack to release the gas was enough. Probably the man in front of the elevator weren’t wearing a mask, in that case they would sleep, on the contrary…

 

_Benut… den… Schrei… (Use… the… scream…)_

 

The scream… one scream would be enough… so what needed to be done… was done…

One scream… one crack… one opportunity… the gas started to fill the corridor. So the race started again. After turning the corridor, the guards in front of the elevator were coughing, trying not to breath the gas by covering their mouths. Passing between them was easy.

 

_Elfter stock… Aber… wählte… den neunten stock (Eleventh floor… but… chose… ninth floor…)_

 

The button was pushed, the elevator began to rise. When it arrived at the ninth floor, the elevator was blocked. A jaw titan opened the mobile cabin. It was everything planned after all. The jaw titan was capable of clinging to the walls and open the elevator doors at the eleventh floor. Arriving at central control room was the next step. The eleventh floor wasin the middle of the entire building in surface, it was possible seeing the wall that surround the building from there. Nothing else. Wall Sheena was only one of the wall that surrounded the building, but it doesn’t matter now. Running away from that nightmare, that really mattered at the moment. If the little trick with the elevator worked, most of the men now were waiting at the ninth floor, so only few guards remained at the eleventh floor. The eleventh floor… wasn’t a familiar place… there…

 

_Hör… nicht auf… finde… den Kontrollraum… (Don’t… stop… find… the control room…)_

 

That was everything that mattered.

 

 

_…_

 

 

**Report 02- PROJECT TITAN- 12/08/2068**

**Eren Kruger**

 

_Unfortunately, even after five months, human experimentation showed no valid result. All humans who had been given the Ymir serum died after thirteen days. Any of them. We tried anything to understand why. Some of them showed sign of improvement, when exposed to sunlight, but that was everything. Not super strength, or fast healing process, or anything like this. Conversely most of the subjects could barely walk alone, they ate and drank but they seemed unable of defecating, so they had stomachache. All of them._

_It was so disgusting. Apparently human body is too weak to host the serum inside it._

_In the end, I care to mention that it happened something strange with some of our animals._

_It happened one strange accident when a little bird escaped from his cage was caught by a cat owned by one of the scientist._

_The little bird was injected with Ymir serum four days before, when the cat caught one of his wing, the bird started to screech, it sounded more like a scream for help, like an animal in trap. There things became weird, all the animals injected with the Ymir serum rushed in to help of the little bird, dogs, snakes, other cats…_

_It was a terrifying event, we couldn’t save the cat, it was completely devoured, limb after limb, by any animals that attacked him. Not even fur left of it, only the blood. We’re trying to study and understand this strange phenomena. We tried to recreate the scenario, trapping two birds, one in the grasp on another animal, a monkey, another in the grasp of one of our scientists._

_The animals attacked and devoured the animal, but about the scientist, they only attacked him but didn’t try to eat him. After that, we denied them food for one week but all the animals showed no sign of fatigue, hunger or anything like this. It’s like they ate the cat and the monkey only to defend one of them, but in the end they don’t need to feed to survive.Nothing but the sunlight. We also tried to calm the animals with anesthetic but it didn’t work. It was metabolized in few minutes._

_We’ll continue to investigate over the reasons why Ymir serum doesn’t work on humans and about his abnormal behavior of animals._

 

 

 

Eren Kruger sighed. He was tired but he also needed to finish the report to submit to Mr Tybur.

Willy had been acting weird and impatiently lately and Kruger could easily understand why. Mr Tybur had invested a lot of money in their project, he didn’t consider the Ymir serum that raving of two simple scientists.

Both him and Jeager needed Mr Tybur’s investments to continue their research, they also needed to keep their work place in the Marley’s Industry.It was their occasion to make difference in their field, to have success, to win a Nobel prize, even.

Well, it wasn’t time to daydream, he needed to continue his report.

 

“Hey Kruger, I’m going to take a coffee, my eyes refuse to stay open. Do you want coffee too ?” Asked Grisha Yeager, whom was sitting at the desk next to his.

 

“I would appreciate it. I hate writing this reports, better, I hate not writing good news. The Ymir serum reveled to be more a challenge than I predicted”

 

“Than we both predicted” said Grisha “But we still have time to improve the serum. Even though, I’m tired seeing people dying” admitted Grisha

 

“You should have thought about this before. You know what we’re doing isn’t exactly ethical. We’re killing people, but we do it for a greater purpose. If Ymir serum works, we will be able to save a lot of people in future. Ymir serum isn’t a simply cure or antidote, if we work on it correctly, it will make differences in any fields”

 

“I know. I don’t regret but I hate killing people for nothing.” Repeated Grisha

 

“I won’t be for nothing forever. We can improve the serum.” Repeated Kruger stubbornly.

 

Grisha nodded then he left the laboratory. Kruger sighed. He was tired and frustrated. He couldn’t bare to collect failure after failure in his experiments. There was something wrong, but he couldn’t figure it out what. Was it about the way the serum was injected ?

He and Grisha injected the serum everywhere, in the heart, in the brain, behind the nape, in the stomach, but not matter where all the subjects died after thirteen days.

So, was it about the age ? The gender ? No, they had injected the serum to both women and men between the 20-30 years, 40 at the most. It was the most interesting age group, it would have been useless using the serum on someone older than40.

The virus wasn’t completely inefficient, since it seemed to work on animals, he could easily theorized why. The first Ymir serum prototype was based on genes belonged of various species of animals. So it could explained why the serum easily adapted with animals DNA, when humans lack of certain kind of genes. Maybe they should include more humans cells in the serum, to make it less aggressive and more easily to adapt with human DNA.

In a spur of the moment, he threw away the papers in front of him and grabbed his head with his hands.

It was a good thing that he shared his laboratory only with Yeager and with anyone else. Last thing he wanted was that one of his assistants saw him in that state, losing control. He looked at his desk, full of papers about Ymir serum, experiments results and general notes. No photo of parents, wife, or girlfriend. It was cold and impersonal. He looked at Grisha’s desk and smiled.

Grisha wasn’t like him, not that both of them were social butterflies, but Grisha managed, better than him, to create a life for himself over their research.

On his friend’s desk there was the picture of a beautiful pipette woman, with large and light color eyes, fair skin, and blond’s hair passed her cheekbones.Dina Fritz was a beautiful young woman and Grisha was lucky to have her in his life.

They two planned to get married next month. Actually, Grisha wanted to delay the weeding since the recents failure with Ymir serum, but Kruger persuaded him not to. Who knew if or when they would find a way to improve the serum ? Dina didn’t deserve to be unhappy only because they weren’t able to improve their serum.

Kruger couldn’t deny that he, deep inside, envied Grisha, the latter had someone to come back home every night. Kruger spent almost any hours of any days of his life in his lab, he could basically moved there. There was no one waiting for him in his empty house after all.No family, or girlfriend or friends. Science aside, he wasn’t good at socializing, at putting himself out there. People scared him to death, made him feel anxious and under pressure.

Grisha seemed to have found the perfect match with Dina. He wasn’t allowed to tell her all the details about their researches, but aside from it, Grisha and Dina were perfect for each other. They shared the same opinions and thoughts about almost everything, they also discussed about any topics, science, policy, even gossips. Being her fiancé, pushed Grisha to force himself to be more open toward the world.

Kruger was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when Grisha put a cup of coffee on his desk.

 

“Thank you…” he murmured grabbing the cup of coffee

 

“You need it, so do I” said Grisha smiling tiredly “If you want, I can remain here with you.”

 

 

“It would be the second night, you can’t. You barely see Dina during the day, don’t allow your job to lock you up inside a lab or you will ended up like me” humored Kruger.

 

“Well, If I hadn’t met Dina I would have told you that it’s not so bad. I mean, my relationship with Dina has been difficult during the first months, we barely have time to see or speak to each other. We risked to brake up various times, instead we will be married in one month… I still can’t believe”

 

“You seem scared about it”

 

“I’m scared because I know it will change me. I spend hours inside this lab injecting the Ymir serum to hundreds people any day, I consider them women and men. After being married, maybe I will see them as wives and husbands, broken families and…”

 

“You’re afraid you won’t be able to go all the way, aren’t you ?” Asked Grisha.

 

“Probably. I observe you and your hands tremble every time. You don’t have to deny it, it’s nothing worthy of worrying. You will need to worry once them will stop to tremble”

 

Grisha murdered something but Kruger didn’t caught any word. Grisha wasn’t like him, Kruger accepted and respected it. Kruger was surprised of himself and of the nimbleness when he injected the serum to one of the subject, even though he knew them would probably die in few time.

Grisha wasn’t like him, he was a doctor before to be a scientist, he swore to save people not to use them for scientific experimentations. Kruger always considered people boring, he always put his researches ahead of anything else and anyone else, nothing mattered but his goals for him. He didn’t care how many people he would have to kill in order to improve Ymir serum. He had been dedicating too much to give up. Grisha had a dubious morality, but a morality nonetheless.Grisha was a man with thousands faces, a good man, many would say, but willings to do terrible things if he believed they were necessary to achieve important goals.

 

“Maybe we should get back to work” said Grisha “Just one hour, then I will come back home”.

 

“I have to finish my report and all the subjects are already dead. There’s nothing for you to do here. Go home”

 

Grisha took another sip, then he sat on his desk. He didn’t want to come back home already, he wasn’t ready to face Dina, her joy for their wedding so soon. All those people died mere minutes ago and he wanted a moment for himself, to cope with his actions, to reflect over the man he was and the man he risked to become.

He finished his report twenty minutes ago, but Kruger didn’t know it so he could pretend that he still needed time to finish it.He needed a moment with his thoughts, not to run away from them. He hoped that they would find a way to improve the serum before his wedding, or he didn’t think he would find a way to keep killing people in vain and looking his wife, eventually his children in the eyes.

He would clench his teeth until the wedding not after it.

 

…

 

Paradise Island 2095

 

If memories were corrects on the eleventh floor there were the archives regarding every single subject, scientist or witness who was involved in the production of Ymir serum. The archives were important, they couldn’t be damaged, because any name, any face was important in the big scheme of what would happen from now on. No one of them… had to be forgotten. No one of them.

Using all the strength of the arms, the metallic door got opened. There was a reason why people had to passed through the archives before to arrive in the control room, because in case of emergency, the first thing that had to be destroyed were the proofs of the Hell Marley Corporations created inside that building. Any man inside the building knew the procedure. Inside the archives there were little bombs implanted inside fake books, ready to be activated in any moment. The smell of potassium chlorate made easier finding where the faked books were. According to the nose, there were five faked books inside the room. Two of them could be activated by opening the book, the other three could be activated only from the control room and only by the ones who knew the right numerical sequence for each one of the three.

 

_Brauche… eine… andere… Ablenkung (Need… another… diversion…)_

 

Diversions were fundamental in that operation. Everyone knew that about those five bombs, so no one would be so stupid to risk to open one of them. The smartest thing to do was taking two of the bomb that could be activated from the control room, the other remained in the archives, in case they needed to be sacrificed…

Informations were important, the succession of the operation more. About it, the race had to continue. Archives were extended, messy but the sound of some whispers nearby plus the smell of human flesh were helpful to find find the the door that leaded toward the control room.

Stopped few centimeters from the door, it was possible hearing the sound of steps and whispers.

 

“That monster is inside the archive… it can’t be killed… the experimentation on that thing isn’t over…”

 

_Sie… werden… mit… nicht… tödlichen… Waffen… angreifen… (They will… attack with… no… lethal weapons…)_

 

 _“_ That thing is strong but is brainless. If we act quickly we can easily defeat it”

 

Again, if memories were corrected, the eleventh floor, in particular the control room, was one of the few rooms on that floor that had a large windows. The eleventh floor was situated thirty meters from the ground, the tallest titan was fifteen meters and a part from Jaw Titans, no other kind of them were capable of climbing the walls. But one Jaw Titan was free, probably it still was inside the elevator, climbed on the wall.

No lethal weapons… probably useful to be use against an human… not a Titan… probably no one of them was aware that one of the Jaw Titan was out of its cage.

 

_Schrei… (Scream…)_

 

Not so quickly. Before, it was necessary forcing the handle, to caught their attention. As soon as it was done, the sound of rifles being raised and pointed didn’t delay to reach the ears. Good. The hands grabbed the handle with all the strength, then, after taking some breaths, the silent was fulled with screams. A scream so strong to push the door against the soldiers, so strong to be heard by the Jaw Titan that didn’t hesitate to follow the scream and attack the targets. Twenty men were waiting inside the control room, one of them was tapping buttons. Probably he was hoping to activate one of the bombs inside the archive. Too bad that one of his comrades, already killed by the Jaw Titan, let the rifle on the floor. The same rifle that was being used to kill him and some others. In few minutes the control room was nothing but a bloodbath. As predicted, the soldiers weren’t in possess of weapons adequate to be used on a Titan and no one of them suspected that a Titan was out of his cell.

After putting the two ‘books’ on one chair, few taps of the controllers and a map of the entire building appeared in front of him. The building was divided into three parts, the west part, the one where the operation started, included the underground the archives, the underground laboratory and the facility. The facility and the underground laboratory were situated at the first floor on the surface, because in the facility there was a gate twenty meters high, useful to quickly let the giants out of the building, inside the Wall Sheena. That was one part. The east part… there were dormitories of the scientists and the soldiers, the kitchens, the armory, the libraries, the supply room, that kind of stuff.

In the surface there was nothing interesting. After opening the map of the five floors underground, the east side of the fourth floor, where there was the cells of the other Jaw Titans didn’t go unnoticed. To open them it was required a numerical sequence.

 

_8…3…4…7…7…8…5…0_

 

Cages unlocked. Amazing. Then again… the scream…

 

_Komn… babies… gehorchen… Come… babies… töte… sie… alle… (obey… kill… them.. all…)_

 

One scream, one order, one ruler.

Titans were perfect, they were mindless, clumsy, disorganized, but if there was a functional brain that leaded their actions, then they became a valuable arsenal.

 

…

 

**Report 03 - PROJECT TITAN - 28/08/2068**

**Eren Kruger**

 

_President Tybur, according to our datas, the animal subjects had developed another kind of ability, we named it ’The Scream’. We used to think that it serves to ask for help other infected animals, we were wrong. Apparently the subjects release the serum that can affect anyone in the immediate vicinity. The serum is more powerful than we originally predicted, since it can affect by airways and above all, by screaming. It’s not everything. We finally made an important discover about human experimentation. One subject was infected fourteen days ago, they didn’t show any sign of change or of the virus, their body remained unchanged. Perfectly regular parameters too. We thought they could be our number 0, but we found something better. The subject’s DNA didn’t adapt to the serum, it generated antibodies to it. Antibodies that are allowing the subject to survive. It’s the first subject who has survived since the begin of our project. We analyzed the antibodies and used them to create a new version of the serum, maybe less offensive, more compatible with human DNA. We injected the second prototype of the serum today to three candidates. The new prototype of Ymir serum is made by totipotent vegetal cells, spinal fluid, this time it belong to the cells of infected animals, human spinal fluid and the antibodies of this subject. We are observing them and we can confirm that, differently from the other subjects they aren’t showing negative effects. We’re waiting to see if one of them shows some interesting signs._

 

Kruger was meditating if using the last name of the subject, the only one who had survived to Ymir serum so far. Kruger had no idea how that subject developed the antibodies. According to blood analysis carried out before the administration, there was something peculiar in that DNA… a gene that no one of the other subjects showed. That gene created antibodies when Ymir serum was injected. Now he and Grisha only had to wait.

 

“Did you finish your report ?” Asked Grisha to him.

 

“More or less. I don’t know if I want to include some informations or not”

 

“Are you referring to the name of our subject ?” Asked Grisha.

 

“Yes. This… person, has a gene never found in some other subject. My hypothesis is that it is hereditary. But…”

 

“But you fear to get involved the family of the subject, right ?”

 

“According to our research about her, she doesn’t have a family. Her husband died few years ago and about her two children… no one has known something since the death of their father. Even though we would look for them, I fear it would be just a waster of resources that we can’t afford at the moment.”

 

They only had to be careful with the health of the woman. Trying not to stress her out, trying to feed her properly, to be careful she wouldn’t be affect by any sort of illness or diseases. Kruger sincerely hoped she would survive long enough to help them develop the serum further. Ymir serum… it could change not only their lives, but all the world. Ymir serum would create a new human race, it would be capable of curing any kind of illness. Maybe it would even capable of prolonging human life span.

 

“We should go checking the subjects. I’m curious to know if there’s already interesting sign we can observe”

 

“Right. In the other subjects signs of illness started to appear after the second day. We administered the serum three days ago. We should go” answered Kruger standing up.

 

Grisha nodded then the two of them went to downstairs where they left the subjects. They arrived in front of a bedroom, where there was a brunette woman laying on a bed, sleeping. Looking at her from the outside of the bedroom, she looked… normal… no tremor, or stuttering, or spots or pallor on the cheeks. She seemed… find.

 

“I come closer. I want to feel the pulse” said Kruger opening the door and entering inside.

 

Kruger gently grabbed the woman’s wrist and apparently she was still alive, she was still breathing but there was something strange about her skin. It seemed tougher. Kruger tried to pinch her on her arm but the skin was so touch he didn’t even managed to slightly move it. Now that he noticed, the woman had various moles along her arms, he noticed it when he injected her the serum. Now the skin was… perfect. Tough, but perfect. He needed a scalped, he wanted to investigate further this weird characteristic.

 

“Grisha, can you take me a…”

 

Almost like the colleague had read his mind, Grisha was already handling him a scalpel. Kruger thanked him with his eyes. Maybe he was loosing his mind, but a theory was forming into his mind. As soon as he tried to cut the woman’s skin with the scalped, it broke. It couldn’t penetrate the skin.

 

“What is this ?” Asked Grisha alarmed.

 

“I don’t know… I can’t cut the skin. It’s too tough.”

 

“So we can’t even take a sample. If the scalped didn’t work, I doubt a syringe will”

 

“So do I. She didn’t even wake up, probably she didn’t even feel the scalped on her skin”

 

Now that was another problem. This sudden hardening of the epidermis was a problem that should not be underestimated. If they couldn’t use their tools on her, then they couldn’t proceed with their researches. It was a problem they had to solve as soon as possible.

 

“I wonder why she doesn’t wake up.” Said Grisha trying to shake her by her shoulders.

 

No reactions, but the woman was alive, she was breathing. Kruger put his head on her chest, he could listen her heart beat even without using a stethoscope. The heart beat was pretty loud, he also noticed that the her chest was warmer than the other parts of her body.

 

“Should we write this in the report too ?” Asked Grisha

 

“What ? That we have babysitting a sleeping beauty ? No idea. I don’t want him to read about another failure”

 

“We should visit the other two subjects. For the moment we can’t do much with her, we need tools we don’t have at the moment”

 

“I agree, let’s go, then we will order new kind of tools to use”

 

Grisha nodded. The went out from the room where the woman was still sleeping, closing the door and then they arrived in front of the other subject’s room.

The man inside the room was sleeping as well. Grusha and Kruger entered inside the room but something quickly caught their attention. The room… was hot. Terribly hot and both of them were tempted to take their lab coats off.

 

“There’s no heating down here, why is it so hot ?” Asked Kruger.

 

“AHH !!” Grisha’s screamed made the other jumped “He’s burning”

 

Grisha showed to his colleague his hand. The palm and the tip of each finger was slightly turned and there was smoke around the hand. Kruger grabbed his wrist carefully and passed his eyes between the hand and the man on the bed. The man was not sweating, but nevertheless his body temperature was terribly hot, even the blankets and clothes that covered him were burning, there were holes. Nevertheless his skin was perfectly smooth. How could it be possible ?

 

“We should take care of your hand. This isn’t normal” said Kruger.

 

“It’s the first time something like this happens. No one of the other subjects develop such body temperature, if we don’t act quickly it will cause a fire”

 

“I agree, apparently we have a lot calls to do today. For the moment, we can only take off the blankets, help me”

 

The two of them took the blankets off and then they noticed that the t-shirt was almost completely consumed and so the upper part of the trousers.

 

“We can’t let him naked, we can’t take samples with him either. Again, we can only wait to have instruments and also find a way to lower his body temperature if we want to stay close to him” said Grisha.

 

“Yes” whispered Kruger, almost downhearted.

 

Grisha put his good hand on his shoulder and said “Hey, don’t be so torn, it’s a progress after all”

 

“Yes. There’s one patient left”

 

Grisha nodded then the two of them left the room. There was only one subject left, then Grisha would take care of his hand and then they would figure it out something to continue with their researches.They stopped in front of the last room and what they saw completely disconcerted them.

 

“What the hell…” whispered both of them.

 

In front of them the last subject was… there weren’t words for it. The body was enormous, the limbs were too slim but it wasn’t possible seeing the head from there. Quickly they entered inside the room and they saw that the head of the patient had grown so much that it fell from the bed. The patient was still sleeping nonetheless. His body temperature was normal and he was breathing. 

 

“How could he still be alive ?” Asked Grisha.

 

“I don’t know, but I want to. Whatever’s happening, it’s a result, maybe negative or positive, it doesn’t matter. The Ymir serum is working, we have to keep working on it. For the moment”

 

Grisha nodded, more because he was willing to leave that room as quickly as possible. The sight of that body disturbed him. He thought about his lovely Dina and how about he would never want to see her reduced in that way. Ymir serum was giving results, that was what he should focus on but for a moment he couldn’t stop himself from thinking what he was contributing to create. A miracle or a monster ? The cure or the illness ? The salvation or the doom ? The other two subjects presented anomalies but this third one whose name was a mystery for him, this third one was the undeniable proof of his mistakes, with all the other dead subjects. He knew that it would arrive the moment for him to pay for all his sins, that one day, the blame he suffocated everyday under the excuse of a better human race, would fall apart and the man he would see in the mirror… he would despise that man.He looked at his hands, the one burned the one good. They seemed the hands of a stranger, of two different persons. The man he used to be, the man he risked to become.

It was his chance to take a step back, he didn’t. He didn’t know he’d just made the first for the end.

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2095…

 

Running away, did.

Arriving at the control room, did.

Freeing the Jaw Titans, did.

Now there were only two things left, for those people to see… what Paradise meant to be.

 

_Ich… werde… Wunder… geschehen… lassen… (I… am… going… to make… miracles happen)_

 

Couldn’t help but smile at the mere thought of what was going to happen. In that place there was no space for humans anymore, not them, whose were bad, spiteful, cruel, who hurt and torture without any pity. No pity would save them. In thirty minutes the down would rise and they would blow up. No cure, no serum would be able to save them from the nightmare they would live from now on. That was the sentence. That was the decision.

After tapping other buttons, appeared a map of ventilation duct of the east area. That area was useless since all the people in the building would die in few minutes, there were only few rooms that could be save but they would ended up destroyed eventually. The only question was which way would be better to use to destroy them. Using the book, increasing the body temperature of a titan, creating a breach on the east area and let Titans devour them all or… using one titan to spread the serum ? Which one of the two would be more cruel ? The painful death or the never-ending nightmare ?

 

_Niemals… endender… Albtraum… (Never… ending… nightmare…)_

 

One button pushed and a the self destruction sequence was activated.

 

_“The self-destruction sequence has been activated. Please evacuate to the exist in the East area. All doors are unlocked to expedite evacuation procedure. The sequence can be aborted not later than thirty minutes”_

 

Good. There was only an exit in all that building, it was located in the east areas, into an underground tunnel, where Titans couldn’t attack. All the sentinels positioned on and inside the Wall Sheena had been killed, so no one would attack on the front. Well, leaving the building was out of discussion. There were at least 3000 people inside the building, until all of them would be able to escape there would be the time to finish the operation. Another tapping and opened a digital drawer of the desk. There was only one room in the entire building that could be opened with that key, the most important of the entire building. The last part of the operation. After grabbing the book, the race started again. In the control room there were two doors at booth of the side, one in front and an elevator.

 

_Brauche… eine… Versicherung… (Need… an… insurance…)_

 

The insurance consisted on ordering to the Jaw Titan in the control room to reach the other side of the underground tunnel under the Wall Sheena. The Wall Sheena was larger than the other two Walls, a Jaw Titan could easily enter inside and passed from the passages inside it. It was the only possibility. The other Titans outside the building were too big and slow, and leaving the building was out of question. The Jaw Titan was a very fast kind of titan. With an elbow, the window of control room broke and then with one scream the Jaw Titan was ready again to follow orders. Following the Jaw Titan with the gaze until the little Titan entered inside the Wall Sheena, imagining how it would be the life outside the Wall hit any cell inside the body again.

Freedom… a life outside the walls… Revenge… They used to be the dream of a monster closed inside a cage. A monster born with a lot of abilities expect wings to fly away. Fly away from that Hell. Be free of seeing the dawn rise and the sky color withed with every shade of blue, red and grey.

That reality would remain an utopia if more time got wasted inside that room. The next destination was locate at the center of the building, arriving there surely wouldn’t be easy. At least now, thanks to the self-destruction sequence, all the door were unlocked. Even though a part of the guards had been blocked in the underground and another killed right there, inside the control room, it was sure as Hell that guards were waiting for the ‘monster’ to arrive at the so called “Nucleus” before the thirty minutes were over.

Well, well, it was the moment to continue the race. For the moment it was needed only one book bomb.

In the control room, few meters from the elevator, there was another door, where there a long and large corridor where company was waiting for the arrival of the monster.

Well, the monster was ready to fight. Coming closer to the door, it opened automatically. The monster smirked as he saw a group formed by ten men on the other side of the corridor, ready to shot. Bowling… the monster had read something about that sport. To win you had to throw a ball and drop all the pin. Let’s the game began.

The monster used the hardening ability to create a thin layer of crystal behind, so that no one could access to the control room and around the book bomb. Then it started to run, faster and faster, using hardening ability to protect itself from the bullets. It was faster than a normal human being, so faster that when ti began to raise its body temperature so much that smoke started to surround its shape and when it was close enough to the men, it increased the body temperature ever more, at the point to burn all ten men and their weapons, even the clothes the monster was wearing. Nothing new, since all the scientists in that building had seen any centimeters of its body, more than once. The spread of smoke and warmth was enough to literally melt the metallic door at the end of the corridor. The monster arrived inside another control room, smaller, there was only an electronic device positioned in the middle. It served to push three buttons, one to open the door of the main control room, the other to open the melted one, the last one served to deactivate something really funny that unfortunately the monster could use right now. Without wasting more time, there were other three doors, one that leaded to another set of corridors where there were private studios where scientists usually wrote notes, ate, sleep without getting too far away from the Nucleus. The middle door leaded toward the laboratories, where scientists could directly observe and take date of what happened inside the Nucleus. The last door conducted toward another corridor that took toward another experimentation room situated all around the Nucleus.

In few words the Nucleus was an hexagonal room at the center of the experiment facility, where there was only one electronic door, the only one that could only be opened with a key, the only one that couldn’t be controlled from the control room. The Nucleus was the most important room of the entire building, the most protected, indeed there were hundreds soldiers inside the experiment facility, where were conducted the cruelest experiments on subjects. The monster could feel their presence from their human smell.

The monster opened the door for the laboratories. Inside there, there were various desks with computers, glass cupboards full of chemical elements, test tubes and measuring instruments. There was a lab coat on a desk. The monster wore it, not appreciating its own nudity. It was strange that no scientists were there in the laboratories, waiting for the monster to arrive. Maybe those cowards had left that room since the self destruction sequence was activated. Those cowards weren’t soldiers, they were only able to use their bubbled mouths to give orders and to comment the results of their cruelties when their lives weren’t in danger. Of course they didn’t hesitate to run away. Some computers were still on, on one desk there was a cup of steaming coffee, the smell of human flesh was strong. No, those idiots couldn’t have left the room more than few minutes ago. At the other side of the experimental facility there werestairs that leaded both upstairs and downstairs. Well, they wouldn’t go far away. The monster had assured it.

On the opposite wall, there was a large windows that occupied along the entire length of the wall. From there it was possible seeing all those man situated all around the Nucleus. Apparently, they hoped to capture ‘the monster’in time to stop the self destruction sequence.

 

_Idiotische Dummköpfe… anzunehmen… dass ich… nicht… mehr… die… macht… besitze… euch… alle… zu… vernichten … (Idiotic fools… to assume… I no… longer… possess… the power… to… crush… you… all)_

 

The beast snarled. The monster wanted to kill them all. They were nothing but meat for slaughter that deserved to die. Under the window, were located various machines, the monsters didn’t know how to exactly call them, but there were various buttons and the monsters knew their functions. In that laboratories were studied different time of Titans… the so called Shifters. There the shifters were submitted to the cruelest tests.

Some of them had to measure the resistance of their hardening ability… just like that…

The monster pushed a button, then smirked. On the west side of the room, two walls started to rise, revealing the presence of two little cannonballs behind. When the walls completely disappeared, the monster pressed another button and the two cannonballs started shooting. Five men died, ripped by one of the cannonballs. Other ten lost one or more limbs. Of course when the monster pressed the button again, most of the remaining soldiers moved away from the cannonsand unfortunately the experimental facility was spacious enough to avoid the cannonballs. Well, it was time to pass to another toy. The ability to control other infected, animals, for examples. After pressing another button, the middle part of the south wall started to rise and ten infected wolfs entered inside, beginning to attack the soldiers.

The monster smiled, those toys were created for something like itself, soldiers weren’t able to entertain themselves properly with infected wolfs. Infected animals were easier to kill than Titans or Shifters. Animals usually reached a tonnage higher than the norm only a few centimeters, also they weren’t able to use and control their abilities like humans. Animals followed their instincts, animals obeyed to a superior mind, in that case, the monster’s itself.

The wolves attacked the soldiers, good pets they knew where attack them, at the height of the jugular, where the neck weren’t protected by anything, the calves and the forearms. Soldiers with ripped limbs were more useless than a dead ones. Dead ones could be left to rot, invalid one became a burden. Most of the soldiers were dyeing to protect the others, or to carrie away the hurt ones, but the wolves were hungry, so fucking hungry…

Soldier’s weapons weren’t lethal, they ere supposed to capture ‘the monster’, not to fight against wolves. Well, wolves were easier to take down than shifters. Ten wolves were already dead, but ten soldiers lost a limb, arm or leg, seven were dead, otherscontinued to die or lose.

Dying and losing, that was humans could do against Ymir’s creature, in whose veins victory and power flowed. In the end those soldiers should have been prepared to die, since they knew what kinds of monsters lived inside that building. Well, despite how much entertaining watching those worms fighting for their lives in vain could be, time was running out. It was the moment to activate one last toy. Ymir creatures had a higher than normal metabolism, that was why no soporific substance worked. Anyway scientists inside those building worked out a gas that worked on Ymir creatures and made them sleep, but if it was used on normal being, they died. The gas was too intrusive and quickly damaged the epithelial tissue, almost burning it, and then passed on to subsequent tissues, which remained irreparably compromised but not burned. However, the victims died rapidly within five minutes.

A slow and painful death to teach them all that humans were no longer the culmination of the food chain.

One button, all the room of the facility rooms were locked, another button and…

 

“Zeit zu sterben, Würner” (Time to die, worms)

 

The room was quickly filled with green gas. Some soldiers recognize the gas and tried to escape from the doors but found them locked, the wolves fell asleep pretty quickly. The experimental facility was filled with screams of agony and pain, and exactly five minutes after, everyone in that room was dead. The monster smirked, then it used hardening ability to cover its face from the gas, not to breath it.

The Nucleus was few meters from it and that alone was a victory. That alone was enough to consider the operation a success.

 

…

 

**REPORT 04 - PROJECT TITAN**

**15/09/2068**

_It’s finally discovered the last element needed to perfection the Ymir serum and make it perfect. Totipotent vegetal cells, antibodies belonged to the subjects zero, genome of infected animals and spinal fluid, with the first kind of serum and the last element… sunlight. Serendipity. While some tubes of Ymir serum were carried through the corridors out of the laboratories during the day, the color oftubes changed. After having analyzed that, it was easily to deduct how much was changed inside the serum, not only the color. The sunlight was the element that connects the others, like a nucleus. The sun is the nucleus that attracts and controls all the other elements. With animals a basic ember serum is enough, but humans needed superior form of it, a stronger activator to start a more complex cellular process that turn all their cells into totipotent cells. Plants’s transformation is activated by one single injection that causes the death of the plant and the born of new seeds. Animal’s transformation is activated with a basic serum of totipotent vegetal cells, spinal fluid and first prototype of serum. Humans are always more complicated. So complicated…_

 

Eren Kruger didn’t want to finish the report, actually he felt like he should write it again. He wished Grisha was there, to share the joy for the new discover, but Grisha was with Dina, somewhere for their honeymoon. His colleague married the woman of his one week ago and he wouldn’t come back to work before another one and the laboratory was so empty to be suffocating, terribly suffocating. More and more Even found himself wanting to go outside, to feel the sunlight work his face, meanwhile his researches on Ymir serum continued, because he couldn’t stop. If Kruger wasn’t aware, he would believe someone injected him with the Ymir serum.

Ymir serum… a poisoned thought stuck inside his mind, a thought connected to tight with any other dream, ambition, fantasy he could have. Everything around him lost any meaning if compared with the Ymir serum. Everything lost color, consistency. Every single person, included Grisha and President Tybur, saw in Ymir Serum nothing but the key of success, the access to a new age for human kind. Kruger saw something different in it, he saw freedom.

Freedom from illness, freedom from age, freedom from a condition of submission humans had been forced. Freedom to fight, freedom to dream, freedom to live.

When sunlight changed the color of those tubes, it was like freedom inside those tubes revealed at his eyes a secret nothing else could reveal to him.

Kruger created Ymir serum to get himself free from that constant sense of oppression casted upon him due to his childhood events. Kruger was a fervent reader of Kafka, he considered the his descriptions about the loneliness condition of humankind realistic, or maybe it was Kruger that identified himself too much in his characters. Nevertheless he realized his lonely condition and how it was hurting him after having read the first Kafka’s novel. It was like something opened his eyes, making him realizing something he would never understand otherwise. The knowledge or the fear of being stuck in that loneliness, into a never ending feeling of nonetheless that more time than not had pushed him to find relief into pain. Pain was better than the emptiness, pain remembered people they were alive, that they were suffering but if you were suffering, you were alive, if you were alive you could fight. Emptiness simply remembered you about your insignificant existence.

Could a great success as Ymir serum bring some light in his life ? Could a noble prize be enough to fill that sense of void ? To put some color in the immense dullness in which he felt himself sinking ?

He always accepted the events of his life passively, when something bad happened he always found a way to defend himself from it, to survive to any adversity. Never attack, not even once in his whole life, using only traverse ways to get where he wanted only because he was too afraid not to be strong enough to face any challenge.

Any day a new lie, a new mask, a new trick, a new excuse… to survive. Would Ymir serum turn him into a different man ? Kruger hoped so with all his heart.

Without even realizing he arrived in front of the three bedrooms where the three subjects were still sleeping. After different experiments and tentatives, they finally found a way to took samples from them and decided to focus on them alone. The woman, he secretly called ‘Ymir’ like the serum, was still sleeping. Her skin had acquired a brighter complexion, her body had become more curvaceous, not fat, just more attractive. The man in the next room instead completely lost his skin, revealing his muscle tissue that seemed to have melted with skeletal tissue. Muscles and bones had become one. Now the man’s body looked more like an armor. His body temperature had stabilized but remained excessively hot, so changes had to be made inside his room. The last subject didn’t change much, his limbs were still too slim to support his giant head and abdomen, but his skin was as tough as Ymir’s ones, his skin was hot and sometimes it emitted electric shocks, each time it happen another part of his body changed, as the electricity was the prelude for any changes. Kruger believed that those electrical shocks were similar to the ones that brain sent to neurons through the synapses.

There was so much to learn about Ymir serum, so much answers Kruger wanted to find.

An idea was beginning to form into his mind, a new tormenting, poisoning ambition that for a moment prevented him from breathing. Ymir serum could be the key for anyone’s success, but it could be the key for his own personal freedom.

President Tybur didn’t have to know about it, maybe he would share his idea with Grisha alone, eventually. For the moment, he would be better to work alone, make sure no one suspect anything. His ambition had a shape, a face, a name, a consistency. He would make it real, he would gain his own freedom with his hands and mind.

 

“Ich werd Wunder geschehen lassen“ (I’m going to make miracles happens…) he muttered putting an hand of the glass of Ymir’s bedroom.

 

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2095

 

Dawn was an amazing event to witness, specially when it had the color of freedom and announced a future rich of dreams and ambitions. The dawn of a new life, of freedom.

The monster didn’t even care to look behind them, to look at how the building was going up in flames, at least the middle and the east areas, or when at least more than one thousands titans were running free around the island. The west area, where there were and the laboratories were safe. The Nucleus and all the rooms behind it were destroyed. All the people who had tried to escape from the building were dead or turned into Titans. The monster loved the Danse Macabre he did with his titans. Titans were incredible creatures when they were leaded by someone capable of taking advantage of their best abilities. It didn’t take too much after all, only a target to achieve, something to fight for. Something worthy the pain you were feeling and the blood you were going to shred.

The monster looked at its hands, surely cleaner than the mouth, the chin or the teeth of his hands and nevertheless or those limbs on the ground were building his throne, all the blood was on its hand.

There would be no journey back for the monster, from now on, nor that the monster particularly cared for it. The building it was leaving, was nothing but a place where ‘it’ used to live. Where ‘it’ was considered more like a ‘thing’ than a human being. Well, ‘it’ finally proved them right, ‘it’ barked and bite that day and now… now…

 

“I’m going to make miracles happen.”

 

The world would know the power of Ymir creatures, its enemies would bow before it, beg it for their useless lives, beg for forgiveness. Before the beginning of the new century, it would have destroyed Marley Corporation, devoured all their ambitions, destroyed all their dreams, ruined any single assistant, scientist, man, woman or child of that hellish corporation. The hell they created on that island, ti would be nothing compared to what their creature planned to do with them.

The dawn was beautiful, the most beautiful thing it’d ever seen,the first air wave It got after years of agony, thinking that it would die in the shit hole it was locked up. 

That was the dawn of its rising.

 

“Guten Morgen” (Good morning)

 

 

…

 

MARLEY 7/11/2068

 

President Tybur couldn’t stop himself from biting his lips so hard to bleed and to tight his fists hard. He couldn’t react otherwise after all, not after the tragedy happened four days ago and the journalists that didn’t hesitate to throw at his face a truth he wasn’t ready to accept.

He didn’t care about the lost money, he didn’t care about the dead people, Hell, he didn’t even care about all the costs needed for the repair all the damages.

No… He was suffering of a selfish pain, his own, because the dream that for a moment was so close that he could almost touch it with his fingers, now was slipping away again. The Ymir serum researches was momentarily suspended because of an accident that destroy the almost the entire building and killed almost the researchers inside it. All Marley knew it by fault of newspapers.

 

**CATASTROPHY AT TYBUR INDUSTRIES**

 

**_According to all the testimonies collected, four days ago around ten o’clock pm, a catastrophic event involved Tybur Corporation. An event of still mysterious nature, whose causes are still to be determinate caused the death of300 people, scientists, assistants and staff members. All we know was that before this happened, a thunder had torn the sky and it hit the building, but asserting that the nature of the causes is natural is an hazard. In that building, Marley Corporation was working on an ambitious project, of which however Mr Tybur refuses to reveal anything, and one of the responsible of this project, Eren Kruger died that night. Instead his colleague, Grisha Yeager is currently in a comatose state and recovered at Bürgerhospital and…_ **

 

Mr Tybur ripped the newspaper with anger and then thew it inside the trash bin under his desk. He refused to read more. He was ruined, his dream was impossible to realized at the moment and what was worst is that his sister didn’t have much time left. What could possible go wrong ? He had read all the reports over and over again, looking for something that could have helped him to predict an event of that extent, but there was nothing. Datas, numbers, promises. Nothing else. Anything that could have helped him to realized that maybe Kruger or Grisha or both were hiding something from him, because at that point any doubt was lawful. Another thing that irritated him was that he would have to wait Grisha’s awaken before to have the answers he wanted.

At least news didn’t report how or where Grisha had been found. Apparently the first rescuers arrived on the spot reported to him that Grisha was found some meters outside the building and next to him was found an empty syringe and a ripped arm.

Mr Tybur suspected that arm belonged to Kruger but Tybur was waiting for DNA results. Secretly, Tybur also hoped that something could be found in that arm, in case it belonged to Kruger. He hoped that Ymir serum could be found inside it or inside Grisha’s DNA.

Well, for the moment, he had to be practical. The research sector of Ymir serum could be suspended for the moment, but Marley Corporation was still far from failure. Mr Tybur would invest and concentrate of the other sector, trying to find a way to recuperate the money he’d lost. About the Ymir serum, he would build another research center far away from Marley, on Paradise Island, maybe. His father’s gift for his last birthday.

Paradise Island wasn’t a tiny island and there no one would go to spy on him or on his business.

Yes, Paradise Island, that shithole forgotten by God, could be useful somehow for once.

He would wait for Grisha to wake up, have his explanations, trying to find a way to build another center on Paradise Island and there the researches on Ymir serum would continue. And that time, nothing would go wrong.

 

 

 

 


	2. Devil's Trill Sonata

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your eyes seem to be expecting miracles I would me most honored and willing to perform.
> 
> \- Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

MARLEY COASTS 2097 

‘I’m running out of time’  
That was a constant thought inside Annie Leonhart’s mind. It didn’t matter whether she was ready or not to die, or if she still had dreams or if there were people that loved her. Not matter if she had disappeared for two years, and during those two years she had to stay away from her father, the only family she had left. Not matter if her father died during those two years. She didn’t receive a warm welcome back, only an empty house and relief because now those bastards could continue their researches with her titan. The Female Titan. She didn’t think it was an original name and she didn’t consider her Titan a success, since the last blood analysis had proven that something was changed inside her body. Totipotent cells almost disappeared from her system, the rest of the cells differed more and more slowly and with greater difficulty. Her healing process was less efficient Thant it used to be during the first years.   
Most of the scientists of Titan Biology Research Society her Female Titan was a success, since her Titan maintained most of her human and delicate features, differently from Colossal or Armored Titan, it looked more human, it was more agile, more flexible, more capable of controlling the hardening ability and recovery times rather shorts. She was the only one Female Titan of her kind left and nevertheless something in her wasn’t perfect enough. She was aware of that crude reality and so did the rest of biology research members. 

…

TWO WEEKS AGO…

‘I didn’t remember this place being so…’  
Annie was doing her best to distract herself from the bib of that echocardiography that was measuring her heartbeat. She hated that sound. She hated the smell of medicines, chemicals elements and bleach inside the room. She hared the sensation of the drip, the liquid that entered inside her veins to weaken her, so that she wouldn’t be able to use her Titan power. After what happened two years ago, Mr Tybur was becoming more and more paranoid. Restrictive measures, security measures, weapons, serums… Everything was done in order to prevent a third accident to happen for the Marley Corporation.   
After the destruction of the Nucleus, reproduction of progenitor cells was impossible. The nucleus was the center that connected all titans’ fates, normal, abnormal and shifters. It was from that room were Progenitor Ymir serum was created.   
That serum was based on something she wasn’t allowed to know, but whatever it was, it was the only thing that permitted to an human being to become a shifter and to a shifter to live more than thirteen years.  
According to the blabbered mouthed of the older scientists, the first Ymir subjects died after thirteen days. That number kept to persecuting them.   
Annie honestly didn’t imagine what those five idiots who were collecting datas about her hoped to find. They feared to have lost her that day on Paradise Island, nevertheless she had had to save herself again, so she wasn’t so important after all.   
She was nothing. Only an envelope containing defective cells that would cease to differentiate within a few days, maybe hours, maybe minutes.   
They all knew, but until her death, they would continue to treat her like a property. 

“The parameters are completely unpacked… “ said one of the doctor

“The heartbeat is irregular… “ commented an infirmary 

“She has no more time left. We have to find a way to reproduce the spinal liquid of her Female Titan, or we can consider it lost forever”

“We can use the totipotent cells of Titan Beast” 

“Scientists tried more than once, but Titan Beast didn’t posses the type of totipotent cells we need. Titan Beast itself would have died a long time ago if it wasn’t for the Nucleus. The Nucleus was everything, but apparently all the samples scientists had of the Nucleus had been destroyed in the accident of two years ago” said a second doctor.

“If we don’t find a cure, this young woman would be dead in few time” said a biologist inside the room “Her cells are killing her. During the first eleven year, the electric shock produced by their nervous system accelerate the healing process, it allow limbs to grow in dimension and then to come back in their normal size without consequences. Anyway this process compromises the normal development of the organism.”

“We are perfectly aware of this, we don’t need more…”

Annie scoffed, without caring if others could or couldn’t notice her. Even if they did, they would ignore her anyway, nor that she particularly cared. She knew that after that visit they would send her to him, to spy inside her mind to know where she had been for two years, what she had done, what had happened. Annie didn’t know herself. She didn’t even know how to explain. The last thing she remembered was that she, Berthold and Reiner were sent to the Paradise Island, because they needed some injections. They arrived on the island two days before the accident. Reiner had to go on a mission, so he left the island before them.   
After the accident both Annie and Berthold had disappeared but no one, except for Reiner, had the courage to look for them on the island. Unfortunately, even Reiner, with his Armored Titan, barely made it out alive.   
Paradise Island was a living Hell and Annie herself was surprised to be alive. Or maybe she shouldn’t be. After all, she wanted answers as well.   
When she was convoked by chief Theo Magath in his his studio, she was already aware of what he was going to ask of her.

“What’s the last thing you remember ?” He asked smoking his cigar.

He didn’t change at all in two years, or at least he didn’t look too much older than she remembered. Light eyes, thing beard, short thinning hair. Same hard frown. Same uniform.  
The studio was a large room, with the green walls, but almost totally covered by certificates, or paintings or photographs. The parquet floor. A large window that overlooked a training camp on the back of the building.  
She was at the recruits training camp, where cadets were trained to be injected with Ymir serum through a selection that stated who was worthy or unworthy.  
Not everyone had a suitable DNA for Ymir serum, not everyone had the physical. It happened before that some shifters died even before the thirteen years. Magath was responsible for that selection and of their lives as well. 

“The injection, then I fell asleep”

Did she ? She didn’t even remember the injection itself, but Magath didn’t have to know. Everyone who could witness against her was dead anyway. 

“You weren’t suppose to do it. The injection was important to see how ti could help you with your abilities.”

Annie wanted to tell something, but her mouth refused to obey to her. Her mind refused to collaborate with her. It seemed more like her body didn’t belong to her anymore, she simply existed inside it, but her will didn’t reach her brain. She should have told him that as soon as she arrived on Paradise Island she…

“How could you survive if you were sleeping during the attack ?”

Annie closed for a moment her eyes… Blood, dead, screams, fire, Titans… she didn’t remember any of this and nevertheless those imagines were inside her mind and she should tell something again, but again, her mouth refused to collaborate. Annie knew that those memories didn’t belong to her, but somehow they were inside her head now and she didn’t know why.

“Probably someone protected me, maybe Berthold. Maybe he died to protect me”

“Where was him ? Did you do the injection together ?”

Annie knew they got separated as soon as they arrived on the Island. There were different precautions taken for any kind of titans and Berthold’s ones was one of the most dangerous one. Berthold was taken into the underground laboratory , she remained at the eleventh floor, inside the laboratory next to the Nucleus. That was everything. 

“No. It seems obvious.”

“‘Seems’ suggests a possibility, nothing more”

“I’ve nothing more to say. When I woke up, I was surrounded by crystal fragments, maybe I used my hardening ability to protect myself, I don’t remember anything… When I woke up, I didn’t remember anything”

“Do you know where we found you ?” 

Annie it was a trick. They didn’t find her, she found them. How, where, when, she remembered it, but they presumed she had forgotten it as well. She shook her head. She was walking on thin ice, one wrong step and she would fall. Her position as Marley Warrior was terribly compromised, not matter how good results she’d gained through the years. 

“Annie…” Chief Magath hit the desk with his nocks “… Do you know where we found you ?”

…

 

Annie was trying her best not to think about that day, when an imposed silence prevented her from answering on her own way. A sensation so similar to the ones she had felt when she was close to the Nucleus.   
The Nucleus was destroyed now, but according to the informations known, the Nucleus used to connect all the minds of titans and send them informations, memories, thoughts, orders, generating an immense nervous system that overcome any rule of space and time.   
Annie used not to believe in those theories. She simply believed that the Nucleus was a room full of samples and documents. She believed that Marley Corporation was brainwashing them into believing in something that didn’t exist, to make them more docile, to make them easily to manipulate. For a moment she wished they hadn’t found her…  
A loud knock on her bedroom snapped her out of her thoughts. She was in her bedroom, sitting at her desk and she just realized she had been looking at the white pages of her journal for the last one, but without actually seeing it or writing anything inside. 

“Yes ?”

“It’s Pieck, can I come in ?”

Pieck was her roommate, but Annie didn’t know why Pieck didn’t have a room of her own. According to someone’s opinions, even though Pieck had proved to be able to deduce consequences according to the facts presented to her and she was regarded as someone able to take appropriate decisions in any situation, someone (Magath) believed that she needed someone to keep an eye on her. Pieck was weird and unpredictable. Annie herself sometimes had doubts about the mental sanity of her roommate. 

“Pieck, why do you ask permission to enter in your ow…”

Annie couldn’t finish to speak that the door was slammed and Pieck entered walking on all fours. Annie tried not to stare at her too much. Well, she didn’t actually care for the way she walked. 

“I couldn’t know whether you were alone or not… You have spent a lot of time alone ultimately, who knows if you’re seeing someone. I used to spend a lot of time ‘alone’ when…”

Annie made her sign not to continue. Pieck was such a weird person and Annie couldn’t avoid to feel horrified thinking about the other’s sexual experience or whatever.

“Please, spare me any detail. I don’t want to know anything.”

“Boring, as usual. Pork is more fun to mess up with. By the way, we should hurry. Magath wants us to be ready for tonight’s event in two hours”

“For the festival ? I was thinking not to go” admitted Annie.

“You know you can’t. Since your return, Magath keeps both his eyes on you. He fears you can do something… unpredictable. Don’t give him more reason to doubt about you”

‘Maybe he should’ Annie though, since she couldn’t even trust herself anymore. Her therapist suggested her to try to remember everything, maybe writing everything down on her journal but the point was that Annie had nothing to share. She didn’t have memories of those two years, but a deep part of her doubted she had been closed inside her a crystal shield until her awaken. If she had, then why did she saw all those… imagines ?  
Blood, mouths covers with so much blood, blood mourned her, blood on her clothes. If she closed her eyes she could smell blood even in that moment.   
For a moment, she thought she was going to have a panic attack. Her chest hurt and she couldn’t breath, she was also sweating. Pieck quickly noticed that something was wrong with her roommate and tried to make her breath.

“Hey, this is not time for a panic attack. Breath with me. Slowly”

Annie tried to do it, but she felt like a morse was tightening her throat. She could almost feel fingers surrounding her throat, hers, but why should she suffocate herself ?

“Stop doing it” ordered Pieck slapping her hand “I said, breath !”

It took almost fifteen minutes to make her breath again, for a moment Pieck feared she would have to call someone, but then Annie started to breath again.   
Pieck looked at her with a curious look.

“Have this happen before ?”

“No, maybe I’m simply stressed. All the suspicion, Berthold’s disappearance, Magath’s interrogatory… Yes, Pieck, maybe a little fun can be helpful”

“Are you sure ?” 

“I thought that keeping distance from others could have helped me to remember everything, to put pieces together easier, apparently not. Maybe I need to stay with people, talk, have fun”

“I think you’re right, but be careful. Next time it happen, ask for a visit. Shifters are important, don’t forget it”

Annie nodded.   
Sometimes she wished someone would tell her she was important simply because she existed in a world so chaotic. But for the most, including her father, thought she was something wonderful simply because her DNA demonstrated to be strong enough to host Ymir serum.  
Her father was so glad when he learnt it. He was so proud of his little girl, without knowing that he doomed her to be monster and that she would have been dead in thirteen years, if she was luck. She borrowed one of Pieck dress, the one she considered less extravagant. It was a red high-necked dress, with beautiful embroidering along the back, close-fitting at the waist but then fell soft and was long, so that one noticed that she was not wearing heels. She was willing to endure only one torture that night. She wore a pair of white gym shoes instead. She didn’t put on her make-up, she didn’t feel at ease and she didn’t even feel the necessity, but she just sprayed a few drops of perfume on her neck.  
She looked at the mirror next to her bed. She wasn’t nothing particular.

Du bist wunderschön… (You’re beautiful…)

She gasped. That voice… How could it be inside her head ? The Nucleus… No, it was impossible. Without the Nucleus, the Shifters’ minds were no longer connected one to another, or at least that was what Pieck told to her when she realized not to be able to hear her thoughts.  
So how could it be possible ?  
She looked at Pieck, who was wearing a neon green jacket that surely would not have made her unnoticed, but the raven hair woman wasn’t showing any strange reaction. So, she had to be the only one to have heard it. Why ?  
Did it have to do with the fact that she was the last one to get close to the Nucleus of all the Shifters ? The truth was that all shifters didn’t know everything about the Nucleus, only what their superiors had told then, but Annie suspected that most of the informations were hidden or even invented.   
Well, Nucleus or not, she couldn’t show any sign of distress, she needed to be careful. 

“Annie, you’re so pretty tonight !!” said Pieck winking to her “You will have all the children at your feet !”

“I hope not. I don’t think I will handle too much chit chats”

“Keep this attitude of yours, but careful, boys love challenges”

Annie didn’t think boys would notice her at all, even in that red dress she wasn’t so much interesting or appealing, neither there would be someone she cared to be pretty for. 

 

Du bust schön… für mich …. (You’re beautiful… for me)

…

‘What a man wouldn’t do for money’  
Levi Ackerman had been thinking about money all day only to force himself to follow Furlan’s plan. His ambitious friend thought for whatever reason he had that stealing inside Tybur’s Mansion was a good idea. Levi didn’t get why, of all the Mansion, Furlan had picked the most protected ones. It wasn’t a mystery that after the accident on Paradise Island, Mr Tybur had increased the security around that particular Mansion near the coasts, where was build a training center and where they would find hundreds warriors ready to shot them down. But he knew why he trusted Furlan again. His blond friend, differently from, had a good nose in business, or at least that was he always said to Levi.   
The more he looked at the Mansion, the less he thought they would make it out alive.  
Isabel would say that he thought always the worst in any situation instead of trying to be positive. She was right too.   
The thing was that Levi didn’t trust of Furlan’s contact, that weird guy who so willing gave them keys, passwords and suggested them the best time and way to infiltrate inside the Mansion, letting them keeping everything they would steal but only if they managed to kill a man, Erwin Smith, one of the guests.  
That was another thing that didn’t convince Levi too much. Erwin Smith was a nobody, compared to the majority of the guests. No money, no title, nothing that would push someone to kill him apart from his tick eyebrows and made him look pretty ridiculous. Or at least he looked pretty ridiculous in that picture sent to him.   
He used to work as a policemen, but then he was fired for his unorthodox working methods that more often than not created conflicts between him and his superiors, sometimes even his coworkers Then he was discharged, everything happen to that man after it remained a mystery.  
If there was one word to describe Erwin Smith was it, a mystery. Levi would never admit, but he had felt a little torn, when he saw Erwin’s picture for the first time.   
The sever and composed expression on his features, the coldness inside his calculating blu eyes. It was a man who demanded obedience and respect, someone who could have anyone wrapped around his finger, someone that Levi considered terribly dangerous but also… alluring, somehow. Levi was sincerely surprised that the man was single, maybe it was due to his intimidating gaze, well Levi didn’t feel intimidated, but intrigued.  
Well, there he was, dressed up like a waiter, with Furlan and Isabel that were bubbling about something, probably the plan.

“Hey Levi, are you having second thoughts ?” Asked Furlan observing Levi with an intense look. 

“No, it’s too late at this point. I’m simply looking at the stars”

It was partially true. The stars were beautiful, enchanting, and full of promises and dreams ready to be realized. Levi would have never thought to find himself standing in front of a Mansion like that, not when he was used to live in the dirt, like a rat. He hoped he would be able to afford a better lifestyle after that night. A clean comfortable place to call home, with pretty clean furnitures and someone waiting for him.   
Despite his rude attitude, he hoped to find someone who would make him feel... completed.   
‘Why am I thinking about these craps ? Shit’  
Levi closed his eyes, then opened them and turned toward Furlan and Isabel. His eyes became more tender. He wasn’t alone, they were his family and he wanted to protect them. He would protect them, at any cost.   
He had promised them a better life, together, where they would live in a decent home, a comfortable life, where stealing would cease to be a necessity. Where they would cease to fear their own shadows, where they would be able to leave the past behind and all the shit they had gone through until that moment.  
All their hopes, all their dreams, their future depended on the outcome of that night.   
Levi didn’t believe in luck, but he was crossing his fingers and hoping that after tonight, they would be able to start a new life together.

“You’re right, stars remind me of freedom. The stars are the first things we saw together after leaving the reformatory” said Furlan

Levi and Furlan met in the reformatory at the age of sixteen and seventeen, they became friends there. Furlan left the reformatory first, Levi one year later. After three years they met Isabel, then the trio became inseparable. Levi was so glad to have them in his life, to have someone who could make him feel less alone. Someone he knew had his back. Furlan and Isabel always looked up at him and protected him and so he did with them. 

“Yes, we have spent the best moments under the stars, I hope we will be able to admire stars again, together” commented Levi.

“We will, with you and your abilities, nothing will defeat us. Thanks to you, we will start a new life together.” Said Furlan.

“The only thing that separates us from that, is Erwin Smith, but you’re so strong, aniki, no one stands a chance against you” said Isabel hugging him tight.

Levi didn’t say anything, he simply caressed her ginger hair with a small smile. He considered her as a sister, he felt protective toward her and he feared to leave her alone inside that Mansion, with all those pigs who would probably look at her. Isabel was a skilled fighter, but also young and naive and Levi was sending her into a snake den. Maybe he should complete the mission alone. He looked at Furlan and he felt uncomfortable at the idea of leaving him alone inside that Mansion. Furlan was older than Isabel, more cunning, strong but nit as strong as Levi. Sometimes his ambition and his focus on his goals made him blind to the surrounding dangers.

“I was thinking… Maybe I should go alone” said Levi.

“What ?” Asked both Isabel and Furlan.

“I mean… If I fail, you two will have another possibility. If I succeed, we will have a fresh start together”

“We can’t take anything for granted. If we fail together, there won’t be any other possibility. If I fail alone then…”

“No !” Said Isabel taking his hand.

“But we are in this together, you can’t expect us to leave you alone” said Isabel.

“She’s right, we can’t abandon you. If we win, we do it together. If we fail, the same” said Isabel “No one has to be left behind”

“Isabel’s right. We can’t let you going alone. We can’t. What if something happen to you ? Something we could have protected you from ?” Asked Furlan “No, it’s out of discussion”

“But…” tried to reply Levi.

“Out of discussion” repeated Furlan using his ‘authority’ as oldest member of the trio.

“Fine” said Levi “I trust you, both of you, but please, be safe”

‘I can’t lose you’ Levi thought without voicing it though.

“Let’s do it together, we’ve always done it together” said Isabel grabbing his hand.

“Levi, have faith in us” said Furlan putting an hand on his shoulder

“We count on you, aniki” said Isabel “But you can count on us, too”

If only Levi had known… that it would be the last moment they spent together…

 

…  
10:00 PM

Mr Tybur would have preferred being somewhere else, maybe in his office or in his Mansion in Paris, surrounded by more interesting people or being alone. Of course he was a Tybur so he had duties. The misfortune was that Mr Tybur was aware that a lot of voices were spreading about the Mansion situated next to the coasts of the sea, where on the opposite side, there was Paradise Island.   
Mr Tybur couldn’t hide that accident either, not when thousands people demanded answers about their relatives, sons, husbands, wives, friends. Not when the first clumsy attempts to try to reconquer the island, not only failed miserably, increasing the number of the dead, but also attracted the attention of the media and journalists, who hadn’t hesitated to take pictures and publish news on newspapers.  
Mr Tybur had become more and more paranoid since the first accident and now he feared the presence of someone who was trying to sabotage the Marley Corporation to put his dirty hands on Ymir serum.   
Mr Tybur would rip off anyone’s hands who dared to steal Ymir serum from him.   
That was one of the reason why he organized the festival inside that particular Mansion, so that no one would ever dare to suspect he was hiding something inside it. Well, it wasn’t too wrong. Most of the laboratories and important informations on Ymir serum went destroyed in that damn accident in Paradise. That time the number of victims and damages surpassed the one of the first accident. Getting up and covering debts and expenses was even more difficult that time. More than once his family and his company had been on the verge of bankruptcy. His reputation no longer respectable and his image now ruined. Nor that Mr Tybur cared about that frivolities anymore, not when he could still count on the serum.   
Nevertheless he needed to protect everything left of the precedent researches.   
A voice caught his attention.

“Dear, why are you so tense ?” Asked Lyla grabbing his wrist “It’s a festival, you should enjoy yourself” 

“My dear, please ignore my bad mood and try to enjoy the festival yourself.”

“You should try to do the same after two years of hard sacrifices. After the incident on Paradise Island, if our family can still afford this lifestyle if only thanks to your sacrifices. You deserve some fun more than anyone” said Lyla.

Mr Tybur smiled adoring at his younger sister Lyla. He wouldn’t know what to do without her in her life. For him, she was the proof that miracles could be made by humans too, not only by God. If only Kruger would still be alive… He would have found a solution to prolong the lifespan of the shifters in few times, instead Grisha Yeager seemed to be incapable of elaborating even a temporary solution. Since the creation of the first Shifter, there had been no improve to prolong the lifespan of Shifters.   
Mr Tybur needed to find a solution since six years ago he used Ymir Serum on Lyla. 

“Well, I will try. For the moment, enjoy the festival for me too, my dear”

“Will you threat any man who tries to ask me to dance ?”

“I will keep my jealously at bay, least I want is to make you angry”

“Thanks brother.” Said Lyla kissing his cheek, then leaving to speak with other ladies.

Mr Tybur snorted. His sister was dying, how could he have fun ? He should have remained in the laboratories with the other scientists, trying to elaborate a way to improve the serum, but since the destruction of the Nucleus, things had become more and more complicated.   
For the moment, there was nothing else he could do but smile and be cordial with other.  
The diplomacy couldn’t be ignored for too long and his reputation was still at risk and he needed to save his ‘friendship’.   
One of them, Rod Reiss, came close to him to greet him. Will Tybur forced a smile and held the other’s hand.  
’It’s going to be a long night…’

 

…

‘He has aged a lot’ Annie thought looking at the President Tybur, who was conversing with some diplomatic in his private balcony with his family.  
Annie used her ability to hear their conversations.

“So, Mr Reiss, try to guess who of my family’s member… has the greatest secrets”

Annie rolled her eyes. Mr Tybur loved playing that little game with everyone, sure that no one would pick the right member family and even in that case, no one would know how important was the secret he was referring to.  
Any shifters knew the right answer, not because they cared particularly, but their biology.   
Annie had an option particularly negative of Mr Tybur, not based on proven facts, but there was something about him she really didn’t like. She didn’t like that ridiculous habit of him of always having to put in a position that allows him to observe every single movements of his guests, every single look or gesture.   
Annie knew he was observing her movements above everything else, after all, the was the prodigal daughter, came back to her father after two years of distance. She knew she shouldn’t’ have come to that stupid festival, after all she hated festivals with all her heart.   
She hated all those people faking smiles with each other, losing their time with useless pleasantries that made them simply boring and predictable. At least she was glad no one had tried to approach her so far. Until someone collied with her.

“Oh I’m sorry miss” 

It was a blond boy, about her age, but his boys face, with large gaze eyes, the petite pointed nose, the long undercut hair and his insecure posture made him look younger and defenseless. She didn’t remember to have ever seen him before.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you a new recruit ?”

“Yes, miss. I’m Armin Arlert, nice to meet you” said the boy introducing himself with a shy smily, holding his hand.

Annie took it then she said “I’m Annie.”

“Are you the girl who…”

“Who just came back from Paradise Island after being disappeared for two years, yea, it’s me. Have a good evening” said Annie starting to leave.

“No please, it was no my intention offending you” said Armin, grabbing her by her wrist.

Under normal circumstances, Annie would have broken hands and arms of anyone who dared to touch her without her permission, but the boy in front of her had a delicate grasp and slo seemed to be on verge of tears, like he was actually afraid of having offended her. Annie almost smile.  
With those big baby blue eyes and the trembling lip the boy looked younger and defenseless. He remembered her of Berthold somehow. Berthold used to tremble, blush and look afraid when he spoke with her, she’d never understood why. 

“I… ehm… do you want to dance… with… me ?” Asked the boy blushing even more.

Annie gave a look at the dance floor, there were few couples who were dancing. She didn’t enjoy dancing, but maybe she needed to distract herself from her thoughts, from what had happen before, from her life. She needed to be a girl, not a warrior, not a survivor.

“Why not.” She answered.

Armin looked sincerely surprised for a moment, probably the poor boy hadn’t been much luck with women until that moment. Then the blond slowly took her hand and lead her toward the dance floor.  
After noticing that some of her fellows were eyeing her, she almost regretted to have accepted but when Armin put his hands on her waist she realized it was too late, so she put her owns hands on his shoulders. Annie was glad Armin remained silent, since she felt too embarrassed to dare to speak. One look at the boy and she noticed he was still blushing and barely looking at her. She wonder how he thought to survive with that attitude in the warriors. Maybe, he was a boy full of surprises.  
‘After all, everyone can be so unpredictable…’ she thought.

…

Erwin Smith had no idea why he’d accepted Mr Tybur’s invitation. Someone contacted him two weeks ago, suggesting to come that evening. Someone Erwin hoped to encounter that night.  
There was a reason why Erwin had made his personal mission to make his life a mystery, to keep even the littlest thing secret. If he hadn’t been discharged from police, he would have quitted anyway, to investigate on Tybur Industries and it illegal business.   
The blond was famous for his cold blood, but he had the sensation that in that Mansion there could be secrets that would make him shiver. Whoever contacted him, knew a lot of things about Tybur’s activities, especially the one about genetic.   
Erwin didn’t make reckless moves, he asked proofs and proofs to his contact to be sure he wasn’t ended up into a trap and his contact gave him little bread crumbs, nothing too much revealing but intriguing enough to caught his attention.  
Erwin had also been smart enough to hide the location of his new workplace and nevertheless his ‘contact’ had been smart enough to find it and send there the proofs. The blond hoped to learn the identity of the contact that evening, he hated not knowing who he was working with, even though he could understand the reasons. It wasn’t anymore so much of a mystery that most of the people who entered in the Tybur Industries didn’t make it out alive. The entire family as well had earned an ambiguous reputation.   
Until that moment, no one caught his interest, nor the patriarch of the family, nor the people dressed in elegant and expensive dress, adorned with jewels and with a bank account with 9 zeroes.   
All of people perfectly belonged where they were, they fit in that glassy golden world of lies, and Erwin was sure that the person he was looking for would be able to differentiate itself from the other. That there would something that would help Erwin to distinguish it.   
It was when he passed by another couple that he noticed someone unusual. It was a man who clearly didn’t fit with the environment.   
He was dressed up like a waiter but he was clearly unhappy to be there and grumpy, also he barely gave any attention to the other people.   
He was looking around the room, trying to be subtle, and he was, for someone who wasn’t used to observe. Smith was an observant before everything. An observant and a thinker. The waiter seemed adjusted his tie, before to go into a corridor and Erwin followed him, trying to be as subtle as that raven hair man.   
He had to admit that the man’s physical appearance didn’t help him to be subtle. He was short, with raven hair with a military haircut. He had an attractive face, with gentle features, pale cheeks and a grumpy expression that would scare anyone, but he was an handsome man. A handsome man in a hurry that seemed to know exactly where to go even thought he surely didn’t belong to that world.   
Te walls of Tybur Manor abounded of arrogance and richness, there were paintings of different ages on them, each one portrayed battlefields, knights, dead, blood… power, just like the rest of the furnitures. The parquet, the gold decorations, the luxurious crystal chandeliers and various tables or display cases displaying ancient artifacts that surely were worth at least million dollars.   
Everything had to communicate power. The message was increased by the training center connected.   
Erwin had always wondered why Tybur Industries had a training center if the recruits never applied to be accepted into a corp, not matter how trained they were. Erwin had also made a statistic, any recruit never survived too long, they all died in the end for a cause or another, which made him suspect that the center was connected to genetic experimentations.   
Tybur Industries didn’t product armies, it was a pharmaceutical company above everything else. So why did it need recruits ? Why all of them died in the end ? Why Mr Tybur insisted on keeping Paradise Island after the incident ?  
Too many questions, no answer, no lead, only a contact. Only bread crumbs.   
No face, no name, no shape. He was alone with his doubts in his mind.   
The waiter seemed to know exactly where to go, but for the moment, he didn’t seem to have noticed that someone was following him. Maybe Erwin shouldn’t follow him, maybe that was a reckless move.   
He followed the strange man through different corridors, until he saw him ran into a blond young man, that caused the tray to fall. 

“Oh, I’m sorry” apologized the raven hair man with coldness lowering to get the tray.

“Don’t worry, just be more careful next time”

It would be an ordinary scene between two colleagues for anyone else but Erwin. But the blond had clearly noticed that, when the blond kneeled to get the tray, he gave the other something else, also the raven hair seemed to whisper something to the blond, who smiled before to come in his direction.   
Erwin quickly grabbed his phone, clicked some buttons and opened the recognition program on his phone, pretending to make a call.   
As soon as the blonde guy passed by, his programmed started working until he found something. Always keeping an eye off the raven hair man, who was going somewhere, he looked at his phone.  
Light gray eyes.  
Dark blond hair.   
Polite smile that hidden a light mockery and there was an intelligence in his eyes that elevate his entire persona.  
Well, he was the brain of whatever thing was happening there.   
Furlan Church.   
Erwin knew he had heard about that lad before. A low-league criminal, but a criminal nonetheless, grow up in the slums, before to be transferred into a reformatory, where he got out together with his… lovely ‘roommate’. Levi Ackerman, that man dressed up in waiter clothes that he was following.  
If Furlan Church was some sort of delinquent, Levi had nothing to envy to his mate. Maybe the exact opposite.   
Thefts, fights, pickpockets, hacking… the list was very long. Well, well, well.  
Erwin didn’t think Levi was his contact, he seemed to have other plans for him, he was a little delinquent, not someone who would spy on an empire worthy billions of dollars.   
He wasn’t the one he was interested into, but it could be a bad idea leaving that guy wandering inside that mansion uncontrolled.   
His mission was more important than any possible motive that could push a man like Levi Ackerman to come there.   
The mission was his highest priority. His contact didn’t actually said that they would encounter personally that night, but the message simply stated that that night ‘He will see the truth’.  
What was the truth he had to see ?   
He heard a click, then he felt something cold pushed against his temple.

“Why did you stop ? I was supposed to follow me to the second floor, in the green living room.”

“Was I ? How could you say I was following you ?”

“Spare me the bullshit, I knew you would be here. Someone sent me here to kill you, and I will, nothing personal but I need money”

All the gears in Erwin’s mind began to work, to analyze the new items to elaborate a possible logical interpretation. If Levi was saying the truth, someone knew that Erwin, not, was sure, that Erwin would be here that night. Was a trap ? Did his contact set him up ?  
Was that the truth he had to see ? His dead ? Then why wasting time giving him clues ?  
Why waiting so much time to kill him ? His contact knew how to find him, where to find him, so why teasing his curiosity ? Why not sending someone before ?  
Maybe, that was the truth he had to learn, someone knew he had a contact, someone found out he was investigating on the Tybur Industries and that made him a threat. 

“Do you plan to pull the trigger here ?” 

“I was planning to kill you into a safer place and that’s what I intend to do. Dragging your dead corp from here would high the possibility of being discovered” answered Levi “Are you alone ?”

“Is your fellow checking if I have company ?” Asked Erwin with a smirk.

“Don’t you ?” Asked Levi.

The raven hair smirked inside. He knew exactly where Furlan was going. Their contact revealed to them that there was a secret passage in the kitchen in the first floor. A passage that lead into one of the underground floor where there were files records. Their contact told them the records were about some new project the Tybur Industries was working on and that Erwin had been sent there to retrieve them and that was a problem.   
Apparently their contact, Nicholas Lobov, a rich man who probably was drinking champaign with the other riches, wanted to lay his hands on that documents before Erwin. Levi had thought to simply go there and kill Erwin, in practical, to accomplish only the easiest part of the mission, since he feared that, the more the time they spent inside there, the higher the possibility of being captured and killed were. The plan was to enter there while everyone were busy inside the Mansion and then escaped when the party would move in the garden.

“Maybe, maybe not. But if you want my life, you gotta fight for it” 

Before Levi could understand his intension, Erwin brake one of the vase near him that fell on the floor and it caught the attention of few servants that were passing by. Quickly, Levi hide the gun and Erwin came closer to him.

“Not here, we should follow your plan. Let’s go”

“Did you get I intend to kill you ?”

“Try, otherwise there are things I want to know and you’re going to tell me”

…

11:00 pm

Waitress uniform, tray on the hand, bright and gentle smile on the lips and elegant bearing. Everyone would think that there was an angel walking through them and serving them that night. Both men and woman had looked at her at least once since she entered in the room. She smiled politely to everyone, even when one of the host was impolite with him, but that was job, she was supposed to remain composed not matter what. After all, she wasn’t here for the pleasantries, she was there because as long as now, everything was going exactly as she’d planned and she wanted them to continue that way.  
Erwin Smith was there, at the party and so Nicolas Lobov, the first name of his list of people who deserved to die.  
Nicolas Lobov was responsible for the charity area. He organized several fundraisers over the years, but most of the money was invested in the productions of serums, sold to the most disadvantaged populations as vaccines, then the poor people were used as guinea pigs by the industries.   
He was the first who had to die.   
Then, the second target was Sergeant Major Gross. Gross was affiliated to the Security of the Training Center and the Mansion, but he was also known for his rude conduct toward the servants and the recruits. Few people inside that walls, knew that he used to be responsible for the security of Paradise Island, before to be moved in the training center, one year before the incident.   
He could be a problem, because he knew too much things.  
Their face and their name.  
Calvi, General Calvi, the leader of Security forces, hired to guard the training center and the mansion. Dead him, dead all the security men, Tybur Industries would be left defenseless. They were the only men, other than the ‘Warriors’, able to fight a certain kind of… enemies. ‘He’’d already occupied of the armory in both the training center and in the Mansion, thanks to ‘his’ own ‘alleys’, which meant that no further ammunitions for their weapons, or gas or medical sprays. Once their ammunitions were ended, they would only have to pray to die soon. Erwin Smith wasn’t one of the target, but she knew he was investigating on the Industries, and ‘he’ made some research about the blond man and he knee he was skilled, cunning, determinate to find answers, the perfect alley to take down an Empire worthy billions of dollars.   
Unfortunately, Lobov had hired someone to kill the blond man, that was bad, but ‘he’ knew who had been hired and get rid of them would be pretty easy.   
‘He’ had predicted that Lobov’s greedy would push the man to do something stupid sooner or later, for example, stealing important project of Tybur Industries after the accident and selling them to opponent Corporations.   
Lobov knew that the incident happened on Paradise Island had cost more than the previous incident and that he was working for a corporation on the edge of failure, and Lobov was only loyal to himself and surely he didn’t want to crumble with Lord Tybur.  
Lobov could be a problem, he hadn’t sold anything relevant about the Ymir serum, probably he wasn’t even informed of his existence, but any risk was worth taken. If he sold any informations about the serum, there would be an high risk for other corporations to learn about the nucleus and that didn’t have to happen. For the moment, the nucleus must remain a secret inside the major members of the industries.  
In the end, there was only one target to kill that night. A mean to achieve a higher purpose, and the end always justified the means.   
For the moment, she had to know where there were the documents Lobov intended to steal. She knew who were his partners and he recognized one of them going toward the kitchens. The blonde one, Furlan Church, was going toward the kitchen whileLevi, his partner, had to kill Erwin. Erwin was more than capable of taking care of himself, the documents on the other end, whether they existed or not, couldn’t be stolen. They had to burn with this Mansion. When the last glass of champagne was taken, he quickly walked toward the kitchen, walking through a long corridor before to open the last door on the right side. The door leaded into a dark long corridor that ended with a grey door. She walked thought the corridor and opened the door and then entered in the luxurious kitchen, where the everyone was focus on preparing elegant plates to serve to the hosts.   
She couldn’t wait for the party to moved in the garden, where Tybur would came an tearful speech about how lucky she was to have all those puppets there that night and where the dinner would be served. Someone tried to pass her another tray but she completely ignored her, making the tray falling on the ground with the food and receiving a swore in return. She followed the blond man until they arrived in the servants’ room and waited few seconds, spying where the blond was going, when she noticed that the blond was composing a sort of combination with one of the padlock of one of the lockers. Suddenly, one of the locker moved, revealing something behind, probably a passage.  
She waited few minutes, before to come closer and then she concentrated. She was able to hear the heartbeat and the breath of the other. Furlan had stopped, but she couldn’t know if it was due to what was inside the room, or if she had noticed that someone was following him. She heard footsteps, Furlan had started to walk again. So she came close. She took a brief look of what there was and he found downstairs. So there were underground rooms in the Mansion too, ‘he’ was right.  
She ran through the stairs until she arrived in the basement, where there were three doors on each side and one large circular gage on the front.   
She entered inside but she could only make few steps before she felt something pushed against her temple.

“Next time you want to follow someone, I suggest to be more discrete my lade, if there is a next time” 

She smirked “Furlan Church… you’re surely not an amateur”

“You know my name, good, you should have remembered it before to decide to get in my way”

She laughed “Congratulation then, you busted me, but before to kill me, shouldn’t you ask me how I found you ? How or why I know your name ?”

Furlan furrowed and and held his gun tighter, putting his finger on the trigger. The young woman in front of him wasn’t wrong. He studied her with his grey eyes and he was sure he’d never seen her before. She was beautiful, raven hair, collected in a bun, light blue eyes, pale skin, dressed up like a waitress but he was sure she didn’t work there.   
There was also something rather disturbing and alarming about her, even thought he couldn’t figure it our what. There was simply something that put him on alert. 

“Would you tell me ?”

“Are you asking ?” Asked the girl looking at him, putting her forehead against the gun, without trying to move away “Are you trusting ?”

“I don’t trust anyone but my instinct.”

“What a cunning boy you are” giggled the other “I can easily say I’m your backup plan.”

“Backup… plan ?” Asked Furlan confused.

The girl smirked again “Did you really think that Lobov would have bet his future career only on a group of little delinquents ? In case of failure, I will accomplish your tasks and give him the documents and kill Erwin Smith” she answered.

“So, you decided to kill me first in order to obtain whatever reward Lobov promised to you, am I right ?”

“Please, If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it before. I worked for Lobov, which means I’m an employee of Tybur Industries as well. If I kill a man tonight, my boss would do anything in his power to protect me. What about you ? Would he protect you ?”

“Why are you telling me this ?” Asked Furlan.

“To make you understand how beneficial could be for you if you lower your gun. I’m not here to prevent you from accomplish your mission, I’m here to guarantee you do it.” She raised her hands “I’m disarmed and I do not intend to hurt you…”

Furlan smirked “Sorry, my lady, but I cannot trust you” 

He shot her right in the head and watched her body fell lifeless on the floor, the blood started to run along her face, a puddle of blood began to form on the floor. A pity, she was really beautiful, but he couldn’t trust anyone, not when his life and Levi and Isabel’ were on the line. That was probably the most dangerous task of their life and they hat to take any precaution. He turned around and walked toward the large gate. It could be opened only by composing a numeric password. 

“3…9…8…0…0…1”

The gate was unlocked and it opened, revealing the archives. A room riches of shelves full of documents, sheets scattered on the floor and others still placed in boxes. Finding the documents for Lobov wouldn’t be so easy.

“Well, I have to start somewhere”

…

11:30 pm

Levi didn’t plan to waste so much time to put a bullet inside Erwin’s head that night, but for the moment he couldn’t go anywhere, he’d been caught, but strangely Erwin didn’t try to run away. He was still holding a gun with one hand and checking on Erwin time to time. The blonde looked too much relaxed for his taste. Like he already knew that, not matter what happen, he would get out unharmed from that situation. They arrived in the studio at the second floor, Levi locked the door and pointed the gun toward Erwin again.   
Erwin, like he barely remembered his presence in the same room and the gun, came closer to the window and observed the hosts getting out in the garden, in their fancy clothes, laughing and chatting, ignorant that probably a man would have been dead in that room, in that Mansion, where they were celebrating. The world was so curious, fate even more. In the same place and night, a man was going to lose his life, into a Mansion full of people, and the funny things was that no one would come for helping him and there was so much silence in that room, that not even the music played by the orchestra, the laughs and chats of the guests could reach them.  
It was like he and Levi were locked inside a bubble of silence and wait, like the world stopped in those four walls.

“Which one of them ?” He asked.

“Which one of them what ?” Asked Levi.

“Sent you to kill me. Since I’m going to die soon, I want to know who is holding the gun”

“I am”

“No, you’re the gun, someone’s holding you. Who ?”

“What does it matter ?” Asked Levi.

“Why doesn’t ? People who has no idea of their parents are, struggle all their life to give themselves an identity, to know who started their lives. Why couldn’t I have the same curiosity about who’s going to end it ?”

“You make too much questions”

“Because I hope to find answers. Never give up on finding answers, answers are truth, without truth we’re nothing but animals that wanders blind in this world.” Said Erwin.

“Well, I’ve been called worse than blind ‘animal’, I don’t know about you… But this is my only chance to change my life forever… and I won’t fail”

“What have been promised to you ? Money, workplace… a normal life ? Are you sure you can trust your contact ?”

“Don’t worry about me, mind your own business”

Erwin laughed. He knew the guy like Levi too well. Scoundrels from the underground convinced that knowing how to fight and shoot was enough to help them to swim with sharks. It was clear they had no idea how Tybur Industries could be dangerous and how dangerous was each member. They had no idea that, whoever sent them, had the intention of turning them into guinea pig, ready to used for experimentation.

“What do you know about me, Levi ?”

“Nothing much, you were a cop, then you quitted and disappeared and now someone wants you dead.”

“It’s not the first time Tybur Industries send someone to kill me. I’ve always wondered why any hit man only try once and never again”

Levi narrowed his eyes, he understood the direction Erwin was trying to take and he didn’t like it. That prick thought he could manipulate him, but he was wrong. Levi knew that Lobov wasn’t worthy of trust, but that was their only chance to change their life forever. If he failed… he would fail Furlan and Isabel as well. There was no other choice, not for him at least. He looked at Erwin, he studied him, he wondered about how many possibilities the other man could offer to him, how many informations he knew about the Tybur Industries, why the blond man was so convinced any of its members to be so dangerous.   
For Levi, Erwin was a dangerous man as well. The blond looked like one of those men who pulled the strings of all the population, able to turn the entire world in the stage of their own intrigues, connected it with their web of lies.  
His eyes could be as well the ones of a snake, the eyes where you could find thousands lies and truth, each one of them could be appealing at the right moment, enough to allow the snake to wrap you around his coils. 

“What do you know about Tybur Industries ?”

Levi rolled his eyes then he shot against the wall, close to Erwin “I don’t care about the industries. I only care about myself. Putting my nose in business that don’t regard me could put me in danger, you should know it better than me”

Erwin smirked. Nothing clouded the mind more than the doubt. It was enough a little drop of doubt, to put in motion a mechanism that could lead a person toward the madness or toward the truth. Erwin didn’t have problems with sharing information or even part of his mind with the world, if it meant dominating it. 

“If I don’t, then the Tybur Industries will never stop”

“Listen, I get that Tybur Industries are dangerous, but any empire is built on lies and crimes, why are you so obsessed with Tybur’s ?”

“Human Experimentation” said Erwin without hesitation. 

“You can’t be so sure… Do you have any proof ?” Asked Levi, trying not to show his fear.

“Do you have any proof that can prove the contrary ?” Asked Erwin in return.

Levi rolled his eyes, he didn’t have time for this, he had a mission to accomplish and no more time to waste. He needed to keep his focus, he needed to kill Erwin before the blond managed to run away forever. That was an important opportunity given to him, who knew when he would manage to be alone in a room with the blond man. It was useless lying to himself, there was no other way for him, if he hoped to have a new life.

“It’s such a fancy party, isn’t it ?” Asked Erwin opening the window next to him.

Levi held his gun tighter and held his breath, ready to shot.  
1…2…

“I will better join it” said Erwin, who winked at the other man, before to jump elegantly from the window.

“SHIT !” Screamed Levi shoot, but failing to hit the target. He didn’t run close the window, people would probably see him and for the moment he didn’t need to have more attention on himself. 

“Fuck !!” He screamed before to get out of the room and start running. 

It didn’t have to happen, that was an unforgivable mistake. Lobov was one of the guests at the party, he had to see Erwin jumped from the window and he wasn’t dump enough to simply think the blond wanted to make an entrance. He ran, ignoring the pain of his legs, ignoring the need of breathing, ignoring the sudden headache and the doubts that were starting to contaminate his mind.  
Could they trust Lobov ?  
Could they trust someone of those cannibals ?  
Could they be sure that the Industries wasn’t involved as well other than Lobov ?  
What if that party was a giant trap to locked them and Erwin and killed them in one night ?   
Lobov’s proposal, that used to be so alluring, now seemed nothing but a liar.  
Maybe he should simply take Isabel and Furlan and get out of there, trying to find a new way to start a new life. Didn’t they deserve a chance ? The underground was cruel father, that gave nothing to their children but, like a parasite, absorbed, consumed and putrefied everything from them until that they were empty shell. Levi didn’t want to be one of them, he had the fight right down his core and if the price to pay was blood, then let it be. He was ready to fight.  
The clock was ticking and he had a head to blow up with a bullet. 

 

…

12:00 

‘What the hell is happening ?’, Isabel thought when she saw, together with the other guests, Erwin Smith jumping from a window of the second floor and landing elegantly on the ground. How could he be still alive ? Why hadn’t Levi killed him yet ? He jumped from the second floor, where Levi was supposed to kill him. Levi had never failed before, his anikì never failed, so how… why…

“That Erwin Smith knew how to make an entrance” commented one of the guests, while other were applauding the blond, others simply ignored him and other again seemed disturbed by that little show.

Someone elbowed her, making her understand that she had to move.  
The party moved to the garden few minutes ago, some guests had just taken places and were waiting someone to serve them their meal.  
Isabel sighed, her task was to keep Lobov under control, in case he did something suspicious. Furlan wanted to run away with the documents and Isabel had to be sure that they could leave the Mansion without any obstacle posed from Lobov.   
It sounded more like an impossible mission but she, Levi and Furlan had gone through bad experience and done worse to survive.   
She was supposed to serve the area where had been collocated the recruits. Far enough from Lobov to keep an eye on him, not too far not to be able to control him.  
The perfume of freedom had never felt so real, not for a daughter of street like her, a stray dog eaten alive by other’s voracity. With nothing but tatters to cover herself, always dirty and smelly because she found her food in the junk. Where she used to believe that, someday, her parents would have come back to save her and taken her home.   
She didn’t know that in that world she would be better learn how to fight alone. People could call her theft, delinquent, stray dog, she was simply what she was doomed to be. She was in a place surrounded by people she despised with her rotten heart.   
Pearls, diamonds, sapphires.  
She served the first meal.  
Expensive cologne, false smiles, maybe even more expensive than the lipsticks on them.  
She poured the wine in the drink of a lady with a beautiful red dress.  
Blond hair, bored light blue eyes, she seemed that she barely paid any attention on the people around her. Maybe she could afford the sweet privilege of indifference.  
She was going to serve another table, when the blond girl grabbed her tight by her arm.   
Isabel sighed and turned toward the girl, she was going to ask politely to be free but when her eyes met the other’s she froze.  
Those impenetrable ice sheets were penetrating her, trying to find a way to brake inside her mind, to find where there was the error. What was wrong with her. 

“Forgive my manners, I wanted simply thank you” said the blond girl grinning the glass of vine with the other hand.

“Annie has weird ways to demonstrate her gratitude, everyone here knows it. Probably you don’t because you’re new, aren’t ya ?” Asked the girl with long dark hair sat at her side. 

Isabel gulped. She hoped to remain calm, not to reveal anything on her face.  
Yes, I’m new.  
Yes, it’s my first day.  
Yes, now please excuse I have to go.  
Yes… yes… yes… so many yes were ready to be pronounced, but she simply couldn’t voice any of them, not while the blond girl was still piercing her with her glacial eyes and the raven hair one had smart smile on her face, the typical one of someone who had just solved a challenging riddle. 

“Yes, now excuse me” she simply said going away.

It was only when she was far enough that she realized she had been holding her breath. 

…

12:20 pm

’So Erwin is still alive… good…’ thought a shadow hidden behind the stage set up for the speech of President Tybur.   
Mr Tybur hadn’t got out in the garden yet, so he could only wait. At least Erwin Smith was there, that was important. In all his tricks, manipulation and lies, Erwin Smith was an honest man. Once he had a goal to achieve, he remained loyal to it, until the end. If he decided to take down the Tybur Industries and put all his members in prison, he would do it, at any cost, even of his own humanity.   
He needed a man like that, a man who fiercely believed that mean justified the end, that any man was worthy of being sacrificed.  
A man who believe the entire world being a cruel whore, that gave birth to mad and misshapen children, incapable of loving each other’s diversity, incurable of forgive anyone who dared to be different.  
He didn’t even look at the people who were drinking, eating and chatting with himself. Empty talks, fake smiles, beautiful masks. He believed to be the only one who actually knew everyone of them for real.   
He knew them, he wanted them dead, all of them, without any exception.   
In front of his eyes, in his mind, there were dead voices and whispers that told him everything he needed to know.  
No one would say that there was something that connected him with those people, in their elegant suits. No one would dare to imagine the storm he was going to set off on them.  
The funny thing was that there would be people who were going to cry for them, to miss them, to laugh for their dead. In a way or another, they would survive, they would remember. Shadows, ghosts, shapes who had shaped a monster in their imagine and likeness.  
The world so easily forget that behind a monster, there was always a Doctor Frankenstein; that where was Hyde, that was a Jekyll as well.   
He would make the world know and then, he would come back to his mother.  
Paradise Island, his cradle and grave, was already recalling its children.

…

 

12:50 PM

Mr Tybur knew he was late for his speech, but he had given order to serve his guests, to start the dinner without him. He needed a moment to stay alone with his soul, if he still had one.   
He was in one of the bathroom at the first floor, he had already cleaned his hands for the fourth time, trying to wash away the only thing no soap could eliminate, his secrets. He knew that most of the council members were planning to get rid of him and continue to lead the Tybur Industries on their own.   
He knew that Lobov had hired someone to steal the documents in the underground archives. He knew that he would be dead soon, now he knew it, now he realized it. Maybe the Tybur Industries would survive, but not him.   
Few minutes with his guests had been enough to make him realized it. No one of them was willing to still believe in him, in his idea, in his ideals about a better human existence. To become something more, to transcend.  
Because to live wasn’t enough, never was, not for him, not for a man that for a moment had tasted the sweet victory over the death.   
He looked at his human involucre and he despised it. He despite his human condition, he despite seeing his empire crumbling in front of his eyes.   
He wished all of them to die, he wished to put an end on his misery.   
Paradise Island was nothing but a sinful stain of his story, or maybe was the contrary. Maybe Tybur was only a little paragraph of Paradise’s story, he would never know.  
He smiled and counted the victims of Paradise Island, that line any mother was recalling it children.   
He was actually content that he didn’t have no longer fight this war, though, this drama belonged to his legacy. He only conceded a single tear before to leave his hideout and went in the garden. He came closer to the orchestra and made sign to one of the violinist to follow him on the stage. The young man nodded and followed him on the stage. Will whispered something to him, then the young man started playing the ‘Devil’s Trill Sonata’, while Will went on the stage, grabbed the microphone and smiled at his public.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for coming tonight. I…” he paused “… I…. I wished I had happier things to say, but the truth we all know that Tybur Industries are going through hard times. People who believed in me are dead, people who wants me dead are alive and now are here, eating my food, drinking my vine… applauding at my misery… ah ah ah” he laughed “Well, I don’t hold any grudge, I knew I was sailing a drowning ship, but you know what…” he said looking at his sister, sitting at the closest table to the stage “… the real matter was not if I die or not by the hands of any of you, but how many of you… will follow me in Hell…”

He smirked when he looked at his sister and saw her nodding in his direction.   
Meanwhile the notes of first movement, larghetto affettuoso, accompanied him toward the prologue of his own tragedy. The first movement began gently and reflective, with languid double stops and flowing violin melody line filled with tasteful embellishments that made the entire moment beautifully dramatic, and sweet. Like sweet could only be the sentence for a condemned. Like sweet was the moment where the deal was stipulated.  
Few datas, so many failures and his signature that appeared on any paper or documents of Ymir Serum, definitive, like death, for any of guinea pigs who had died in one of his laboratory. He could hear their screams, feel their agony, taste their blood on his tongue and nevertheless, he wanted to simply laugh because damn he was a cruel man. He was a cruel man, like cruel was the entire humanity. A soul tormented by his own devils, ready to drag him in Hell.   
People could despite him, blame him, could turn his name into a blasphemy and yet he did regret nothing.

“Did you know the story of Devil’s Trill Sonata of Tartini ? He dreamed this wonderful sonata in one of his dream, the Devil itself played it for him in change of his soul. Never like now I understand Tartini, even though I only now realize that I sent my soul to the Devil a long time ago… But do you want to know my story ?”

Allegro Moderato…  
His sister stood up and came closer to the stage, smiling at the other guests. Will instead looked at his ‘colleague’, who were looking at him like he had three heads. Probably some of them were ordering whether he’d lost his mind, probably he had. Probably he’d never been sane, to start.   
What a sane man would invest all those money, including his own humanity, on a serum that still had low chance of success and that couldn’t be put on the market without risking prison.   
The truth was that they were all wolves in cage, that their hunt was over and it was time to left the place to stronger predators.

“Do you want to know the story of a man who made a deal with the Devil ? No ? Well, you’re here, aren’t ya ? Grant my wish then. Let me tell you the story of a man who has ripped the heart of thousands man with these bloody hands, who has turned something breakable into something no one of your mediocre minds could ever imagined. I created immortality”

He paused. His sister grabbed his hand and kissed him on his cheek. He smiled her back before to continue.  
Meanwhile, Erwin Smith had been observing attentively the entire scene. Although the Devil’s Trill Sonata was being played wonderfully, there were some discordant notes that made everything more sinister, more wrong.  
Erwin wasn’t able to figure it out if he was looking at the President of Tybur’s Industries, or a man, or a monster, or all of them.  
After all what was a monster ? Monster was something strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature.  
And what was a man ? Wasn’t a man an eternal contradiction of natural laws ?  
Could the President be both ?  
What was the mean of all this ? Was Will Tubyr finally show the man, the monster and the President to the world ?   
The man who made the deal with the Devil. The monster with blood on his hands, The President who finally admitted to have build an empire on blood, sins and wreckage. Was Tybur his contact ? Was that the truth he had to see ?  
Andante…

“… Human race has been submitted by fate, illness, hunger and thirst for far too long. The time to brake the chains of our mortality it’s come and I want you all to remember who showed you the way toward the greatness. Nothing after tonight will be able to stop the human race, because ladies and gentlemen, this world is nothing but a buffet for the strongest. There’s an alimentation chain that will be the only one rule in a world of…”

“We should kill him, he’s revealing too much” commented Lobov to Theo Magath, sat next to him.

Theo Magath didn’t know what to do. Mr Tybur had never been an ordinary man, but he seemed to be delusional on that stage. There were people who didn’t belong to Industries’ staff, people who couldn’t learn the truth about Ymir serum. 

“We can’t kill him in front of the other people” replied Magath.

…

The person behind the stage was observing the entire scene with renewed interest. Surely that party revealed to be more interesting that he’d anticipated, but Mr Tybur was stealing his show now. The President was supposed to make one of those annoying speeches about how scientific development was able to improve humans’ life and how he was glad to help humanity to survive, to help people stay healthier.   
Lies, lies and lies. He wanted to start the operation but he was curious to know the role of Mr Tybur’s sister in all that.  
He could sense something strange, in her, something running through her veins, then he realized.  
She was a daughter of Paradise Island, but she betrayed it, and her people. She was there, drinking and eating and applauding the people who had hurt her own kind.  
She was a parasite who had stolen from them, from him, from the Nucleus, who wouldn’t hesitate to erase Paradise in order to make her brother happy, if she had to.  
She wasn’t one of them, but a target that had to be eliminate. 

’There’s someone here… like us… but she lives with them, she acts and behaves like them… She needs to be eliminated… I will eliminate her’

He knew the other would ‘hear’ him. He and his siblings were connected by a bound no one and nothing could understand, a bond able to brake the rules of time and space. 

…  
12:55 

Allegro assai- 

The movements began fast, dissolving into repeated, modular violin melody over an intensifying accompaniment.  
Lobov, Magath and other members were getting more and more agitated.

“You can’t be God, without being the Devil and I don’t want to die leaving behind a positive opinion of myself. Because I believe, without any shame, that I earn the right to be a God, a right that no one of you worms deserves to have and yet you attempt to take away from me…”

Isabel had no idea what the hell was happening in that garden. Mr Tybur looked like he was prey to delusions. He was babbling about God, immortality and human race like one of those homeless who predicted the end of the world. It was scaring. The worst was that, somehow, most of the people seemed to know perfectly what Mr Tybur was talking about and they looked worried, scared, even.   
She wanted to get out of there, she had the sensation that something terribly was going to happen and she didn’t want to be there when the storm began. She looked at Erwin Smith, who hadn’t sat on his place at the table, but was looking Tybur apart from anyone else, like he didn’t actually belong there, like he wasn’t part of that scenario, but only a mere observant, and Erwin was observing everything.  
He was observing Magath looking at his own recruits,   
He was observing Lobov talking heavily with the men close to him and looking at Tybur with fear.  
He was observing Tybur becoming more and more delusional.  
There was something symbolic in the entire scene, the tumult, the mad man, the madness that took shape and was ready to show itself in the most unexpected way.  
It was almost like everything had been orchestrated to arrive at that point. Like someone had just finished to prepare his side of an invisible chessboard, where all his pawns were ready to be used to kill or be killed ti fight a war the blond couldn’t still understand.  
What was his role in that play ? The commander ? The murderer ? Or the victim ? What were the roles of the other people ?   
It was like seeing all those people for the first time. Like Devil himself had come to stake all the masks off their faces.   
That music, those word, everything… was nothing but a call. A call for what ?   
Who was the schemer behind all of this ? Was his contact ? Was the person he was supposed to fight against ?   
One true remained, all the people in the garden had a role in a drama that was just began, that would cost blood, victims and maybe their own soul. What was the plot ? He was a character of a story he didn’t know the title of. Was it a tragedy ? Was it a thriller ? Could it end with an happy ending ?

…  
12:57

Andante- 

Furlan was smirking and complimenting himself. He had found the folders Lobov was interested on and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he read the content. He thought well when he planned to steal those documents for himself. With those in their hands, he, Levi and Isabel would finally have the live they deserved. Those documents were the key for a bright future, for them, stray dogs, outcasts, abandoned children that world had given birth only to let them rot in the streets.   
Now those outcasts were ready to restart their life.

“Fuck you” he muttered putting the documents inside his jacket and raining the zipper.

Tomorrow they would start a new life, they would start living like persons and no more like beasts. They would have a roof on their heads, food in their fridge and a real bed where to sleep.

“Found something interesting, honey ?” 

That voice made him stopped.

“It can’t be…” he muttered.

The girl he’d shot… was alive, in front of him. Furthermore her forehead was completely healed, there was no sign that could indicate someone had shot her. How could it be possible ?   
Was that girl infected with the serum mentioned in the documents ? So Ymir serum existed, in front of him there was a living proof of that and if he managed to persuade the girl to forgive him or come with him, his future would be even better than originally planned.

“Don’t waste energy in thinking how to persuade me to forgive you. Kneel” said the girl looking at him with piercing eyes.

The eyes of a lioness ready to eat her victim, ready to claim her own hunting territory, the queen who was ready to fight for her own treasure.

“What ?”

“If you have ready the documents, and I know you have, you would know by now that you will better not joke with me. Kneel and beg for forgiveness”

Furlan gulped. He didn’t want to kneel before that monster. If she was really one of those… things, then he really hoped she would die soon. How Tybur Industries managed to create those monsters without anyone knowing it was a mystery and it was also horrible. What they had done to those people was horrible, even for someone like Furlan. The problem was that now, one of those monster was there with him. He didn’t think she would dare to turn now, risking to make the entire Mansion collapsing. He couldn’t be sure, he couldn’t be reckless anymore.  
He’d already killed her once and he was ready to bet on everything that she was seething and wanted nothing more than to rip him limb after limb.   
So he kneeled and raised his hands.

“Better…” she muttered “Now, be a gentlemen, give me the documents”

“What would you do with them, since they practically talked about you ?” Asked Furlan.

“That’s none of your business, know your place” said the girl coming closer to him and grabbing him by his throat “On your knees”

“I know my place in this world pretty well, my lady.” Said Furlan growling “Do you know yours ?”

The woman smirked, then she caressed his check, before to lower her hand until she started to unzip his jacket to take the documents. 

“Good boy” she muttered kissing his cheek.

Furlan repressed an expression of contempt. The woman smiled.

“What do you hope to accomplish ? A new life ? To get out from that dump you’re living with the other two rats ? More tea vita mea ? Did I have to die so you can live happier tomorrow ?”

“You’ve no idea what it means living like rats in the streets, running away from police, sleeping on cold floor… I earn the right to live a better life”

“Your background doesn’t allow you to steal from someone the possibility of a better life. I offered you my hand, I wasn’t even arm, you could have only hit me. I wouldn’t have hurt you, risking to reveal my nature” said the girl tighten her grip around his throat.

Furlan remained still, but he opened his mouth instinctively, gasping for air. He knew that physically he stood no chance against that monster. The girl wasn’t human, was… something else. There was no point in trying to grab his gun, it wouldn’t work anyway, it would probably made the girl angrier and she was already holding him by his throat. He didn’t even want to imagine how quick those fingers could squeeze his throat. How many throats had been squeezed by her ? Who looked so pretty, so delicate, so sensual defenseless… but lethal. She was a black widow.

“I learnt the hard way not to leave no one behind. It was nothing personal, I simply want to survive, to life, to start a new life with the people I love and finally forget about the streets, the smell of junk, the despise expressed on people faces when they looked at us… Who would blame me ?” 

 

“Ma chérie…” said the girl licking his lips “I understand you. Everyone’ve been thought Hell, because in this world no one of us is safe, nowhere. I’m sorry it must to end like this”

Furlan smiled. He’d already knew that he wouldn’t get out of that mess alive. It was so clear that the girl wouldn’t have mercy on him, he accepted it, he was used to it, to people’s cruelty toward him. How could he be so naive to think he could start a new life ? That something good would finally happen to him ? That his ambitions would come true and that he would become rich someday. Rich enough to buy Isabel expensive clothes, to buy himself cars, to allow Levi to buy watches. A nice home with garden and pool. A life where he was treated like a human being, with respect.   
Now he knew, that his ambitions, hopes and dreams would die with him.

“We fight for our dreams and we lose, that’s the rule of a world of defeats, find consolation in this” said the girl squeezing “We’ve been both defeated by our own fate”

It was so sad for Furlan… he was born on his knees before the world and so he was giving himself to the death, defeated, on his knees, like a slave. Like he had been for his whole life. The girl was right, he had fought until that moments for dreams that could never come true, because it was the world itself that was doom to lose against the darkness.  
‘Goodbye friends’.  
It was the last thing he could think about before his head blew up and his headless body fell on the ground.  
The raven hair girl looked at the body for few seconds, before to take the folders in her hand and sighed.

“More blood… for this unworthy world” she whispered closing the door of the basement with her hardening skills.

 

…

Allegro assai 12:59

Levi was almost trip on his foot when he finally arrived in the garden, where there were the other guests where, he didn’t know, the tragedy of their life was slowly coming out, joining their futures forever, on the notes of Devil’s whispers.  
The symphony of their doom.  
He was searching for Erwin, until he saw him. The blond wasn’t looking at him. Levi cursed his luck, he couldn’t kill the blond now, in front of all people, not matter how distracted they were by Tybur’s delusions. 

“What the hell was happening here ?” He muttered.

“… I have but one regret… that I won’t be able to see you all dying… But my sister…” he said taking his sister’s hand “… Will avenge me and with her the era of a new world will begin”

“I love you” whispered Tybur “Do what you have to do”

Her sister nodded “Brother… you have fulfilled your duty as a Tybur, now I will fulfill mine”

With those words she kissed her brother on the cheek, surrounding his neck with her arms and then quickly snapping it. A dead Will Tybur fell on the ground among the horror of the other guests. She smiled with melancholy. She didn’t want to do it, but it was her brother’s wish, then she had no regret. Allowing herself one tear, she bite her finger and prayed God to be blessed.

 

…

00:00

A thunder illuminated the shape of the man behind the stage, who had observed everything in silence, contemplating his chessboard and the battlefield he organized. All the pieces were finally where they were supposed to be and even better, his face could rain in the shadow for little more time.  
It was fine for him, the Hell he was going to bring could have someone else face, but he would come back to reclaim his throne and then…

“I might destroy the world… I’m the bad guy… and I will kill you all… I will kill you all…”


	3. Ackerman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are horrors beyond's life edge that we do no suspect, and once in a while man's evil prying calls them just within our range. 
> 
> \- H.P. Lovecraft, The thing on the Doorstep

_PARADISE ISLAND 2089…_

 

_“We should… finish… don’t… when… the effects…”_

 

_Who was talking ? Why couldn’t he move ? There was something cold around his wrist, he could feel it on his skin. Why could he feel it on his wrist ? Why couldn’t he move it ? Or any other limb of his body ? He wanted to move, he wanted to know whether he was alive, or he was dying or where he was. Who was muttering those words ?_

_What was he doing to him ? What were they doing ?_

_The last thing he could remember was that he was lying awake on his bed, before those men, with bulletproofs and masks came inside his room and pointed at him those threatening black things. He would better ask the name of those things next time his dad came to visit. He could smell chemicals stuff… Succinycholine… as dad once explained to him… Mivacurium… maybe… Rocuronium… Metocurine… Alcuronium… all muscle relaxants used on patients to render them unconscious, to facilitate intubation or surgery by paralyzing skeletal muscle._

_They had tried to make him unconscious but his dad told him that his body easily eliminated every medicine given to it. He didn’t understand what his dad was trying to say, at the time. Now he did. He wasn’t completely conscious but neither unconscious, he could feel the cold thing around his wrist and he could feel a needle penetrating the skin of his arm. He could hear clearly the movements of people around him, keeping in their hands tools he couldn’tidentify in that moment , not that he would be able to give them a name anyway._

 

_“He… pain… activate…”_

 

_Who was talking ? What about pain ? He was so scared. He wanted them to stay away from him. He was screaming at them that he was scared, why were they refusing to listen to him ? Those guys with masks, with white coats and gloves. What were they doing to him ? He wanted to go to his mom and dad. Where were mom and dad ?_

 

_“He… can’t… pain..” Said one, a woman._

 

_“He… not… human… never… continue…” replied another man._

 

_‘Not… human ?’ He thought. How could he be not human ? He was alive, he was made of flesh, blood, he had same face of those people. Why wasn’t he human ? What was wrong with him ? Why couldn’t they stay away from him ? He was alive. His father told him so. He told him that he was ‘special’, that if he was a good boy, he would bring another book to his room, that they would read it together. His father told him he was unique, a miracle for the world. Why wasn’t he human ? Where was his dad ? He told him that his were simple routine checks, because he was special and doctors needed to be sure he remained to be special. He didn’t want to be special if he had to find himself alone with those people that put needles in him and treated him like an animal. He wanted to be normal. He wanted his mom._

 

_“We… samples… subject… serum”_

 

_“Hurry… agitating… time…”_

 

_“Almost… over…”_

 

_‘Almost over’ he repeated in his head, to remain calm, not to be afraid. He closed his eyes and thought about the sky. He’d never seen it, but books described it as blue and infinite and he imagined it and to be a bird that flied with his wings, free and happy, like he hoped to be one day._

 

_…_

 

MARLEY 2097… 9 SEPTEMBER

 

Pain: is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that it associated with actual or potentialtissue damage or described in such terms.

Lyla Tybur was experiencing both. Unpleasant sensory experience associated with tissue damage. Magath lied to his recruits, about pain. He told them they would get used, eventually. That one day, they would get used to the painful sensation of the bones of their body breaking and connecting again. They would get used to their synapses sending electrical signals that create an energy that literally separated every single cell, fiber or atoms of their body and then reconnected. They would get used to the initial stun in their head, the loss of memory, the primordial instinct that constantly fought to prevail over their rationality. Because that was what the pain triggered in them, it turn them in beasts and for the brain and their consciousness was so unacceptable that they fought to to eliminate those memories.

The broken bones, the monstrous aspect and the the constant pain.

But now that her dear brother was dead, pain was everything she had and she would use it to kill all her enemies and carry on Will’s goals.

So she bite, strong, her hand, until she could taste her own blood inside her mouth and then the neurons in her brain caused the synapsis that spread all over her body. And soon she was no longer human. She turned herself in the War Hammer Titan.

 

…

 

‘Found ya…’ think that figure behind the stage. Lord knew how long he’d been looking for the War Hammer Titan.

Accordingly to the datas and documents on Paradise, War Hammer Titan was the only one of his kind. A titan created appositely for Tybur’s sister. It was created using the nucleus and something else that he hadn’t figure it out yet. It was the only tyrant he wasn’t able to control, not completely, not yet. There was something in it that permitted it to resist his control and that itself made Lyla Tybur more dangerous. She needed to be killed, but not before he managed to steal her Tyrant.

He needed a diversion… he didn’t expect it, but if the War Hammer Titan was, the queen of his enemy, on the board, he was ready to sacrificed his first horse to get it.

 

‘ _Set the training center on fire, we start from there’_ he ordered.

 

_‘Roger’_

 

The training center had to be the first to blow up. He knew from his informants that there was an arsenal in the Mansion too, but less rich, less organized and it was too far to reach from the garden, only Mr Tybur and live 10 employees could access. Mansion could wait, training center, not.

 

“I hope you appreciate fireworks, my lady” he said smirking.

 

Few seconds later, the first explosive blew up the west side of the training center, one minute later, the same happen on the west side area, until the entire building blew up in flames. According to his informers, inside there there were about 30.000 people, including the the staff other than the army and the recruits. All people… who were dying burned alive in front of his eyes.

 

“Outstanding” he commented “A world forged in fire is the only one able to withstand the cold of death”

 

…

 

‘ _What do I have to do ? I have the documents with me. I wait for further instructions’_

 

She was running out of the the corridor, after killing any person who was in the kitchen, any possible witness that could cause trouble for her. Nothing and no one had to be underestimated at the moment, not when there was so much at stake. She knew that some recruit was probably trying to reach the armory inside the mansion, but preventing them wasn’t part of her mission.

 

**‘I may know how to take down the War Hammer Titan, you can go. Marco’s waiting for out out of the Mansion’**

 

_“What about you ?’ She asked._

 

**“Don’t worry about me. The mission is everything that matter.’**

 

She nodded, even though her interlocutor couldn’t actually see her. He was right, that she needed to stay focused, any of them knew how to take care of them. No one had to step out of line or the possibility to succeed would diminish. Although… that didn’t stop her to have her own fun. She a small group of people running. Lord, how much she wanted to have a needle for each one of those worms, to use them like guinea pigs, to hold them down and break their spine.

Wait… she actually could kill them and she did.

Fast like light, she appeared in front of them and grabbed a bed by his neck, ignoring the gaps of the other people. She squeezed until the man’s head blew up. Blood and flesh flew in the air.

That was a war and victims had to be expected.

With one kick she managed to slip the body of a woman in two. She grabbed another man by the arm and threw him against the opposite wall strong enough to make his neck snapping due to the impact.

All of them were nothing but prays ready to be killed. Faceless and worthless worms that didn’t deserve another day. That belonged to her people.

 

“Why are you killing us ?” Asked a woman she was keeping still with her foot on her back.

 

“Because your people had been preventing me too live for far too long and for me you all are guilty”

 

“You’ll never… get… away with… this… a life earned… with blood… isn’t… a life” muttered the woman looking in her eyes,

 

“Your people has been holding mine down for years, this is the day we rise and one day we will win” said the raven hair girl before to kill the woman.

 

Then she used her hardening ability and killed all the remaining people with crystal darts. No one more was left. No more human, no more inferiors, and that was just the beginning. She had wanted to do this for so much time.

She looked at the corps around her and yet she could feel nothing, she wasn’t happy, or sad, or satisfied. She simply needed to do it, to kill them. Because they were the enemy and the enemy had to be destroyed, that were the rules. Hide, survive, kill, steal, win.

It was everything she knew, it was her reality.

She went out the Mansion and ran along the garden. When she arrived in front of of the tall gates, she jumped and landed elegantly on the other sides of the gates.

 

“Did you kill them ?” Asked a male voice near to her.

 

“Is it a problem ?” Asked her narrowing her eyes “They would have died anyway”

 

“Yes, Frieda, it is and no, they could have ran away. Not all humans are bad”

 

“Bold words for a playtime… Marco” said Frieda challenging Marco with her eyes “Don’t forget what they did to us”

 

Marco was an average height, with a broad muscular build. He had short hair, with adorable freckles on his gentle features and brown eyes. He was an idealist, and Frieda envied him and hated him with equal measure. She envied his compassion, his general forgiving attitude toward humans, and she hated him, for his kindness, for his blindness. How could he not see that humans were dangerous ? How could he not understand that they needed to fight with any mean for their freedom ?How could he not understand that the price for their freedom was blood ? That they needed to fight to win ? Fight, fight, and fight.

 

“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that I have to turn off my rationality every time I see a human. We used to be humans too”

 

“No longer anymore though and think about the situation, if they had run, they could have called someone or done someone that could ruin the entire operation”

 

“What ? We are in a mansion in the middle of nowhere”

 

“We can’t leave anything to chance. They could have called someone, they could have done anything…”

 

“ Tybur is dead, his sister has turned in front of them, all the eyes are on them. We would had all the time to run away and so them”

 

“I’m not going to apologize, Marco. Humans are the enemy” said Frieda passing over Marco.

 

Marco grabbed her from the arm “There are lines, there have to be”

 

Frieda smiled with melancholy “Not anymore”

 

Marco sighed then he let Frieda go. There was no point in fighting. He and Frieda had been bickering over that since the time they met. There was a van in the nearby and they needed to get out of there as soon as possible and come back to Paradise.They all knew that as soon as the new spread, the first thing humans would do was attack Paradise and they needed to protect their home and they would. There were their people there in need of protection.

When they arrived close to the van, Frieda stopped.

 

“What’s wrong ?” Asked Marco opening a car door.

 

“He told us to go, but I want to stay here, in case he needs me”

“You shouldn’t, his predictions always happen”

 

The driver’s door opened and a girl got out of the car. She was tall, slender, with dark hair styled into a ponytail and intimidating grey eyes. She was wearing a black leather suit, with tall boots and a white jacket.

 

“What are you waiting for ? We need to hurry up”

 

“Frieda wants to stay” answered Marco.

 

“Do you ?” Asked the girl

 

“He doesn’t want a backup plan, but we need to be careful. There’re other shifters in there”

 

“She’s right too” said the girl.

 

“Ymir, what if we all get caught ?” Asked Marco apprehensive.

 

“It would happen the same thing if he get caught. We can simply hope to die quickly” answered Ymir “Get on, Marco. Frieda is more than capable to take care of herself”

 

Ymir knew that once Frieda got something in mind, there was no way to make her change her mind. Also, Frieda was the most lethal of them all, except him.

She was the best fighter and her Titan was second only to the Attack Titan. If there was someone who could defeat the Armored Titan and the Jaw Titan alone it was her. Also, Ymir was a little bit afraid of her. There was a certain… insanity behind her winter eyes. An elegant ferocity and a passion worthy of the bravest warrior. No one dared to go against her, no one dared to challenge her. She was the incarnation of the opposites, the point where all the contradictions crossed.

Dark hair like the night, white skin like the snow.

Gentle features for an aggressive expression.

Light eyes for a dark hatred.

A slender and female figure for a powerful Goddess that human had only the appearance.

 

“Exactly” said Frieda giving Ymir the documents and coming back to the mansion.

 

“We shouldn’t let her go” said Marco.

 

“You should come with me and shut up” said Ymir closing the door.

 

Marco sighed, knowing he was fighting a lost cause. He got on the car and then Ymir drove away. Paradise Island needed her children.

…

 

Reiner couldn’t believe that was really happening. One minute he was sticking listening boring people talking about themselves and the minute after Miss Tybur turned into a Titan in front of all them. The War Hammer Titan had no weak point and was extremely dangerous. His Armored Titan was strong, yet not strong enough and…

 

“Man up, you’re thinking too much” commented Annie at his side before to bite her finger and turning into her female titan.

 

He sighed. He was done with that, all of that. He didn’t want to turn anymore, he didn’t want to become a monster. He didn’t… not after…

 

…

 

_Reiner was feeling… confused and dizzy… it was due to the recent injection. He hated the collateral effects that always followed the injection. He could barely move, he could barely remember where he was._

_He knew he was on strapped a bed in one of the bedroom in the underground rooms but it was like he didn’t know at the same time. Like his mind was split from his body. Like his mind was living a reality and the body another one. At that point, the nurse, Miss Muller, should be there with him, she was supposed to check on his parameters one last time before to let him go. Where was she ^ Where were the others ?_

_An unusual and terrifying silence surround him and filled the room. Why there was so much silence ? Where there were the others ? Did they leave him there alone ? No, it couldn’t be. At Marley, they needed his Armored Titan. Did someone decide to start an experiment on him ? It wouldn’t be surprising, but they always warned him before to do an experiment and there was always a soldier in the room with him, to intervene whenever he reacted badly at the experiment._

_But now… there was no one._

 

‘Berthold… can you heart me ? Where… are you?’

 

_He knew he shouldn’t used his telepathy, but he was still strapped on the bed and no one was coming to free him and he was getting worried._

_His friend didn’t answer him, so he tried again, and again. He even tried with Annie but no one was answering._

_His heart was beating faster and he was sweating. He used his armored ability to brake the straps, then he tried to stand up but due to the dizziness he fell on the floor. He tried no to scream, but the pain in his head was only getting worse, also he still didn’t feel completely in control of his body. He barely felt his legs and now he even noticed he couldn’t coordinate correctly the movements of his hands. The collateral effects of the injection were a pain in the ass._

 

_“I nwet…”_

 

_Excellent, he couldn’t even speak correctly._

 

_“Shict…”_

 

_He took a deep breath, then he closed his eyes. Generally the collateral effects didn’t endure more than five minutes after his awaken. He simply needed to calm down for some minutes more, then he would be okay. He took another deep breath and then got on his knees and grabbed his head with both his hands and started to count._

_Exactly five minutes later, he was feeling the dizziness disappearing and basic motor functions slowly came back to him. Firstly, the fingers, until he could finally move both his hands coordinately. Slower was the recovery for his legs. He had to hold on the bed to stand up. He was still wearing his flannel trousers with the white shirt and he had no idea where were his clothes. He concentrated his hearing but he couldn’t hear anyone out there, no heartbeat or breath…_

_He was alone, in the underground. He tried no to panic, he needed to understand what the hell was going there and remember how he’d arrived there._

_The procedure for the injections in the underground was to put a blindfold on his eyes and inject him with a serum that caused sleepiness. Apparently it happen before that a subject, after the injection, became aggressive and attacked everyone, only to run away. The subject also knew exactly where to go to escape. After that, precautions were taken for the future injections._

_Reiner damned it. He took another deep breath then he got out of the room._

_He noticed that the centrifuge and the mass spectrometer were empty, there were documents and pieces of glass shattered on the floor, there were computers, some had been destroyed, others showed matrix, datas he couldn’t understand. The floor under his feet was cold but he didn’t mind. The observation room was empty but there was a detail that quickly caught his attention… there was blood in the room. He could smell it. There was too much blood… he didn’t like it…_

_He used his powers to enhance his sight and it was then that he saw two nurses and five soldiers on the floor, with all the limbs ripped, some of them were unrecognizable because their assailant literally blew their head and there was blood, so much blood on the floor._

_He gasped and instinctively put a hand over his mouth and had to hold on the controllers at his side not to fall back._

_When did it happen ? Who was the culprit ? Why didn’t he or she kill him too ? Where was now ?_

_Whoever did that, it wasn’t human, it was needed a certain amount of strength to rip someone’s lib like that, so there were only two options to take into consideration: a subject escaped his cell and kill those people; there was a double-crosser who killed them._

_Reiner hoped with all his heart that that was caused for someone’s negligence and not for a double-crosser. It had to be. Who would be so stupid to betray the Tybur Industries ? No one. He tried not to walk on the blood and quietly he got out that room too, until he found himself in the locker room._

_The room was a mess, some lockers were on the floor, others had a detached door and could see red footprints on the floor and fingerprints on the lockers and the walls. The culprit had passed from there. Maybe it wasn’t even far._

 

_“Let’s see if I find something to wear”_

 

_He used his strength to open some lockers, in one of them he find a jacket and a pair of boots. He wore them then he opened the door and found himself into a dark corridor. He mentally thanked his powers to be able to see the door at the other end of the corridor. He ran until he arrived at the end of the corridor, but when he opened the door he almost fell. It wasn’t a door, but an elevator, or it used to be an elevator at least._

 

_“Shit !!” He screamed._

 

_He had to come back and find another way to escape. He came back to the observation room and he noticed a red door on the left side of the room. He came closer to it an opened the door and saw the stairs. He began to run again. His mood was already sore because he had to change the path from the culprit and now he had no idea where to look for it. Hell, he only knew he was in one of the underground floor but he didn’t even know which one._

_He could only keep running until he could find a door or something to escape. What was strange was that he hadn’t met anyone along the way and now he was really scaring. He ran until he found a door that lead to the Experimental Facilities. He knew that there would be Titans there, but he had no reason to be afraid of them. Those Titans lacked of any intelligence and were used as targets to train him and the other Shifters._

_It was only when he arrived into another corridor that he could smell blood again and above all… he could hear screams._

_He ran along the corridor until he entered in the Experimental Facilities and what he saw was… the Hell._

 

_…_

 

_Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and to the outside world._

 

When he was found by the research team Rein was unable to see the world as he used to. Sometimes he didn’t even remember his name. Sometime he didn’t even remember his life before the Paradise’s event. Like his entire existence had been split up in two parts and he was unable to be the old Reiner and the new Reiner altogether.He was split up. He was broken and no armor could protect him anymore. He bite his finger but nothing happen, no sparks, nothing, because there was not motivation behind his gesture. There was no motivation that colored his life anymore.

There was only insanity that corrupted his mind and the yield ready to put him on his knees in front of a world that had lost control over his creatures.

 

“Reiner, what the hell is happening to you ? Turn yourself, now !!” Ordered Magath.

 

“What’s wrong with you, you prick ?” Asked Pork shaking him by his shoulders.

 

What was happening to him ? What was wrong with him ? He had the answer for no one of the questions. God only knew he wished he could figure it out how to survive another day. He wished he had something or someone worthy to wake up any morning for, but the truth was the death had been calling his name since the Paradise incident. Any cell of his being screamed at him to letgo, because there was nothing that worked anyone inside him and it was better being brave enough to kill themselves, instead to let someone have the last word on your story, a word that you were ready to pronounce.

His hand was still bleeding and he hoped he would bleed out, that the wound wouldn’t regenerate, that his body had chose to die, not to fight, to surrender with its spirit.

 

“I can’t… I can’t…”

  
“What the hell…”

 

Magath cursed his luck. He looked at the two Titan, who were fighting against each other. Annie was the most skillful and talented fighter of her unit, but her Titan couldn’t match the Armored Titan, no one could. The Armored Titan was the most lethal of all the titans, the only one capable of creating any kind of weapons and that could generate itself from the feet, which meant that cutting its nape would be useless. The only chance they had is to recuperate the weapons from the armory of the center.

 

“Magath !!” A voice screamed his name.

 

Erwin Smith. Shit. What the hell was he doing there ? What was the point of inviting him there ? Had Willy Tybur planned this since the beginning ? To kill himself and reveal the world the dark side of Tybur Industries ?

 

“Magath, what the hell is happening here ? What are those ?”

 

“What do they look like to you ? They’re monsters, Titans. Congratulations, Smith. You have finally found what you’re looking for. The truth”

 

“Not the fully one. What are you planning to do now ? A lot of people have died” said Erwin, more like to state a fact, with an impassive expression that didn’t reveal anything.

 

“Since when do you care about people ? I’ve heard stories about you, stories that would frighten a terrorist”

 

“Are you speaking about you and your colleagues ? How can we stop that… Titan ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“Always the pragmatic ones, ah ? You don’t need to be informed about anything, I’ve everything under control”

 

In that exactly moment, the Armored Titan kicked the female Titan against the Mansion and that part of the building got destroyed, killing all the people inside that area. Part if the guests who hadn’t run away in time, were now lying on the grass, dead. Some of them were unrecognizable, in their blood pool, where someone could barely distinguish fragments of bone and fabric of dress. There were limbs, arms and legs on the grass that used to belong to someone that would be soon forgotten.

Those people used to have everything, fancy clothes, money, fame, a family, food in their fridge and now they would barely have a decent funeral ceremony and a body to bury. Levi used to envy all of them, now he was glad to be still alive.He was few steps away from Erwin, not daring to take his eyes off those two monsters. The only reason why he hadn’t run away was that he was looking for Isabel in that lump of rubble, dust and blood. There were so many women and men that were trying to escape that he couldn’t see Isabel, so he tried to came closer but someone grabbed his arm.

 

“Where do you think you’re going ? The closer you go, the higher the possibility of being killed” said Erwin.

 

“As if you care, let me go” ordered Levi.

 

“Is the midget your new partner ? You fell down, literally” commented Magath.

 

 

“Don’t waste breath on my partner, we need to get out of here,” said Erwin.

 

“You should know better than anyone that a captain doesn’t let his ship sinking alone, he sinks with it. I have to stay here with my soldier and fight”

 

“How are you going to stop them ?”

 

Levi rolled his eyes, there were two persons he needed to find in that moment and keep safe. Two persons he hadn’t heart for hours at that point and now he was seriously getting worried.

He tried to pass through the few people who were still running toward the Mansion. He needed to find Isabel at least.

 

…

 

He was internally snickering. It was the moment he was waiting for since the start of plan. He sent another signal, to blew up the latest bombs, where the serum was contained. The serum could spread quicker if inhaled through the airways. Those people would finally have a taste of the real sufferance, they would learn how painful could be when their bones would brake and regenerated and brake again. They would finally understand what it really meant when their body is ripped apart, then composed again, they would know the real meaning of being a monster.

 

_‘Detonate the last bombs, my fellas. I will release Ymir serum in the garden. We need a backup also, I want someone to take Erwin Smith away from this. It’s an order’_

 

He almost smiled when Frieda answered him. Not matter what he told her, she always did things her way, well she was more than capable of dealing with Erwin Smith. He knew the man was still alive. He only needed to remove Magath from the picture. He used his powers to control theArmored Titan inside Reiner. The control wouldn’t last long, specially while Reiner was in his human form, but it didn’t matter. He only needed few minutes.

 

_‘Good pet, use your hardening ability to keep Erwin Smith away from the other people, then bit your hand and get in the game’_

 

He was the Titan King, which meant that any Titan had to obey.

 

…

 

Reiner knew what there was something controlling him,he knew that it was happeningthe same thing happen on Paradise Island, when his mind and body had been dissociated, now it was no different, when he used his hardening ability to push Erwin and the raven hair boy away from them, creating a little barrier.

A shameful barrier actually, but the lack of motivation and his depression prevented him from doing better.

 

“What’s this ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“You could have done a better job Reiner. Now, I want you all to…”

 

 

Magath couldn’t finish the sentence when the Mansion and the Training Center nearby blew up.

Magath mentally cursed. He and the others couldn’t retrieve the their weapons now, they could only relive on the ones they had and worst of that, Ymir serum had a strong smell. Magath had to learn how to recognize it, also he was injected with a vaccine, since it wasn’t part of the plan for him to become a Titan. He was immune, but most of the soldiers weren’t, most of there were designated to be injected and become Titan shifters. The guests didn’t have the vaccine in their veins and he could say from the strong smell that the Ymir serum was in the air and that. He saw green smoke coming from the stage at the center of the garden.

 

“Oh my God, everyone cover their noses and run away !! RUN AWAY !! YMIR SERUM HAD BEEN RELEASED!!”

 

He knew he shouldn’t have shouted the name of the serum aloud, but most of the people around him would be dead in few seconds.

 

“Recruits, get the hell out of here and cover your nose !” He ordered at the recruits, who nodded and started running away.

 

“REINER !! FOR CHRIST’ SAKE !! PUT YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, ANNIE NEEDS YOU !!!” He exclaimed kicking Reiner in his side “Du bist ein Krieger, denk daran ! In einer reihe stehen!” (You’re a warrior, remember that ! Get in line !)

 

“Commander Magath !” Screamed one of the soldier nearby “What are your orders ?” He asked passing him a gas mask.

 

“My orders…” he muttered.

 

There wasn’t much to do at that point. He looked at Reiner, whose eyes were lost and trapped his mind into some nightmare, into a madness that was paralyzing him from the inside. Somehow, he was living again a past experience, maybe something that happen back in Paradise Island.

Something terrible, something that had almost reduced Reiner to a mere human wreck.

He looked up at Annie and he knew she wouldn’t last long.

Annie was an amazing fighter, her Female Titan had a good level of stamina, but the War Hammer Titan was… something else entirely. It had no weak points, cutting his nape was useless since it regenerates from the feet and it could create weapons, like the spike it was using to impale one of the Female Titan’s leg.

 

“My orders are as follows, take the recruits away, where they could be save, the armed soldiers stay and help the Female Titan.”

 

“What about Erwin Smith ?”

 

“Helping the Female Titan must be your priority. Soon the guests would turn into mindless titan, they would try to kill us. We have to neutralize them now, then we will help Annie killing the War Hammer Titan” said Magath.

 

“Are these your orders ?”

 

Magath nodded with determination “These are my orders."

 

…

 

“Someone’s trying to get us away, we need to…” said Levi, that was interrupted by someone behind him.

 

“Commander !” said a voice.

 

Both Erwin and Levi turned around and they saw someone with a mask, who was keeping two gas masks in both of the hands. It was a man tall, well built, who was dressed up in black.

 

“Take them” the person said throwing at them the masks “We’ve received the message, what is that green gas ?”

 

“I’ve the sensation we’re going to find out soon” said Erwin grabbing one of the gas mask and wearing it, then he passed the other to Levi “Wear it, before you breath that toxin”

 

Levi blinked few times. Why the man he had tried to kill only few minutes ago, now wanted to help him ? People were weird, definitively, but now he couldn’t waste more time, he needed to find Isabel, to take her away from there. He turned toward the Mansion and, even if a part of him wasn’t ready to give up on his best friend, another part of him was slowly considering the possibility that Furlan died in the explosion and that maybe he would never see him again, but it didn’t have to be the same for Isabel, maybe she managed to run away, maybe she managed not to breath the toxin, maybe she was still in the garden…

 

“Anikì !!” Someone screamed.

 

Isabel was so glad that she finally found her anikì. She was so scared and she wanted nothing more than going away from that place and coming back home, where she would feel safe again.

People around her, were coughing, were slowly fainting and she feared that that gas could be more than a simple toxin. Poor thing, didn’t know that she would find it out soon.

Levi quickly turned around, coming little closer to the crystal darts, uncaring whether the recruits would try o not to kill him, he needed to protect Isabel, he had to.

 

“Isabel !!”

 

“Anikì !!” Isabel started to run faster but behind her there was a big explosion that made her fall on the ground.

 

Levi tried to come closer her, but between him and Isabel, there were Magath, Reiner, who was having troubles controlling his hardening abilities and the rest of the soldiers who had lined up, ready to attack something that Levi couldn’t see.

It was only when another explosion took place, and then an another, and an another, then he finally realized what was the real danger Magath and his soldiers were trying to defend themselves from. 

All the guests who hadn’t managed to run away in time from the toxin, were slowly turning into beasts, monsters, similars to the two who were fighting together but they were different at the same time. The expressions on their face looked… empty and dumb, without any intelligence. Their bodies were naked, without genital organs, or hairs, like bodies that had never reached even the puberty. Their head was slightly disproportionate to the rest of the body and had infantile features too and it was also difficult to define their sex. Apparently they all looked male.

One of them started to running in his direction, or better, toward the soldiers’, the bad thing was that Isabel was right on his way.

 

“Isabel !!” Levi screamed “Get out and run !! Get away from there !!”

 

Due to the violent impact, Isabel couldn’t move his left leg and when she turned around and saw that monster running toward her, she did her best to stand up and run, but she couldn’t. At some point, when she thought that the monster was going to trample on her, it grabbed her instead, with its enormous hand. That monster was tall 7 mr about and it was observing her with its dumb eyes. She didn’t even realized she’d started crying, or that other naked monsters were running and coming closer to her. Was she going to die ? What would that monster do to her ?

How could she ended up in such situation ?

She was scared, like never before, and she had a tough life. Born in the street, almost dead by starving, convinced that she could only survive by selling her body one day… her brothers gave her a hope, and now everything was wrong. She had thought she had the key for a new life in the palm of her hand, but now a mindless monster had her in his palm and that time, she knew that she wouldn’t make it.

Fate’d favored her few times in her whole life.

 

“Warriors ! One monster is distracted !! Kill it now !” Ordered Magath “Draw the attention of the other titans to you, so that no one of them approach the female Titan”

 

The soldiers lined up in the first line advanced, one of them stopped at one point and waited that the closest one would rushed toward him, so that its nape would be uncovered. That soldier moved just in time to move to the side and then jumped on the monster’s nape and cut it with something that looked like a sword.

‘Sword ?’ Thought Erwin who hadn’t stopped observing the scene from afar ‘Do they still produce them?’

The soldier used the sword to cut the monster’s nape, while the others were using machine guns to distract the titans from him.

There was another detail that Erwin noted, the machine guns were practically useless against those monsters. The bullets couldn’t even penetrate their skin, but they were enough to distract the monsters.

The one that was holding Isabel got momentarily distracted. One soldier was close enough to kill it and Levi could feel the hope slowing coming back inside his heart, he knew he couldn’t do anything to help her. Even if he succeeded to disarm a soldier, the others would kill him quickly.

The soldier was so close… so close… and he shote the monster with his machine gun right in his eyes and it was then… that it happened.

The Titan started screaming in agony and, completely forgotten of its prey in its hand. It squeezed the girl’s body so tightly until it was destroyed, leaving only the head intact, that fell on the grass with few blood drops. Isabel hadn’t even the time to realize what was happening that she died.

Her last whispered word into that world was ‘anikì’.

For Levi, it was like watching everything in slow motion, like that wasn’t the reality, like it was only a sick delusion of his mind, like that was simply a nightmare he would soon woken up from.

Isabel… was dead ? No, he refused to believe it. It was only a joke, he was…

On his knees… on the grass… like he’d always been in his life, on his knees, defeated, lost, unworthy of any grace. Because he was the stray dog, wasn’t he ?

They were the stray dogs and that was their role in that world, staying on their knees and put it up with everything life caused to them.

The world around him was burning and it was expected he would burn with it, that his remains lay there on the grass, ready to be burned down or reduced to nothing by those monsters. He looked up, toward the soldier that was supposed to save Isabel and he saw that he was grabbed by another Titan. The soldier was struggling, trying to getting free, while the others were trying to save him and keeping away the other monsters. God only knew that the soldier was going to die painfully. The titan that was holding him opened his mouth and devoured him, bite him at the waist and the blood that came out of him made its mouth dirty. The other soldiers paralyzed for a moment, before they started to fight the monsters again.

The soldiers lined up in the second line reached the others. The situation for them wasn’t positive, there were about ten or more monsters around them. One of the monster had grabbed two soldiers with his hands, another had run out his munitions, the situations was getting worse at any minute. In less then five minutes, more than the half of them had been devoured or brutally killed by those monsters, the other half were desperately trying to protect themselves, failing miserable.

Levi continued watching that macabre scene, he was studying soldiers’ movements, he was analyzing their strategies, how they attacked the monsters, how they defended themselves and above all he was studying their errors. Some of them were focusing more on protecting one of the other giant, the blond one, to pay enough attention on the others. Also, they always tended to gather in one place, allowing monsters to surround them more easily. In the end, if he got it right, the weak spot of those monsters was their nape, which was challenge to aim from their position. They needed to go up and to move faster.

One soldier died…

Levi got up and cleaned his trousers…

Another soldier got devoured…

Levi made the first step…

Three soldiers got caught in the grasp of one big hand…

Levi took a deep breath…

The three soldiers gone smashed by monster’s fingers…

Levi made the first step…

Erwin was on the verge of going away when he noticed and understood what Levi was going to do, a part of him wanted to stop that young man, wanted to warn him about that danger, another part of him, the selfish one, was curious to know what was going to happen, intrigued about something in that man that he couldn’t figure it out.

Levi started running toward the monsters.

When Isabel died… he remembered the sense of powerless he felt when his mother had been taken away from him, he remembered the weird sensation he’d felt in that occasion, like a pulse, like a force able to tell him exactly what to do, that took control over his body and his mind, that turned all his body into a lethal weapon. He had no idea of what had triggered that ‘sensation’ inside him, he simply knew that one day something inside had changed forever.

Something that was going to change his life once again.

 

_…_

 

Annie knew she wouldn’t last longer, that there were people dying for her on the ground, that in that moment, without Reiner fighting at her side, she had no chance of defeating the War Hammer Titan. What was worst, was the lack of fear. Like she almost knew she was going to die but she couldn’t even feel sorry for herself. She’d always been a stoic person, who took and accepted the life for what it really was and adapting accordingly. She hoped that at least in the face of her death she would have felt something, but the injection took this away too. She had been slowly dying since she became a shifter, her body was giving away, her heart was weakening, her organs were rotten more day after day, her muscles…

She had been prepared for her death during the training and only now she realized that death was calling her name.

Punch, kick, dodge, save, defense, attack… no one of those things were going to save her.

Then was was the point in fighting ?

Why was her body still so determinate to survive ?

Was her to want to survive ? Or was she fighting for some else’s will ?

 

_“You should surrender… You don’t have a chance…”_ told the War Hammer through the telepathy.

 

_“I can’t”_

 

_“You don’t want” said the War Hammer using another spike to his her left shoulder._

 

_“No… I can’t… I have no other choice…”_

 

_“Yeah… neither have I”_

 

It was in that moment that Annie felt less alone, just a little. It was the fate all the shifters shared. They had no other choice than to accept the injection.

Who wanted to become a hero, who wanted to make his parents proud and who wanted to reach the immortality, without knowing that doing it would shorten their lifespan in 13 years, if they were lucky. The Ymir serum didn’t work at the same way for all the subjects, some of them died even before that time.

The War Hammer Titan created another spike and used it to impaled her abdomen. Annie didn’t even have the time to recover that the War Hammer Titan created another weapon, an ax, that used to cut half of her head, in attempt to cut her entire head.

The part of her head cut off fell on the ground, leaving uncovered part of her brain, her left eye,cutting off the left part of her frontal bone, her ethmoid bone, inferior nasal concha and barely touching her superior lip. If only she hesitated one more second, the War Hammer Titan would have succeeded in cutting her head off entirely.

 

_…_

_Blood on his hands…_

 

He grabbed one of the sword used by the soldier. Legs, arms, fingers, wrists… his body was moving on his own volition. Jumps, kicks, lands, dodges, cuts…

It was like he was dancing a choreography he didn’t even know to have learnt. There were giant monsters around him, ready to eat him alive, just like they’d done with those soldiers and nevertheless his body was dancing a mortal lethal dance, like he had nothing to be afraid of, like he already knew that, not matter what could happen, he would survive.

 

_Blood on his face…_

 

God, he really hated the sensation of being dirty, specially when the dirty was on his clothes on his hands or his face. He could feel the monsters’ blood in his hair and on his forehead. Some drops ran along his cheeks, making him looked like he was crying blood tears, which was a creepy imagine. One of the monster almost grabbed him, but it was like his body had already protected it and it was ready to cut all his fingers in time, before start running along his arms until he was close enough to jump on his head and then land on his nape to cut it off.

How could he be so sure to be able to do it ?

How could he be so sure to succeed ?

 

_Blood on his clothes…_

 

Whose was the blood on his hair ? The blood on his clothes ? On his hands ?

Did it belong to the soldiers eaten by the Titans ? Did it belong only to the monsters ? Did he actually care ? Did he actually care that those monsters used to be people, normal people, and now they were no more ?

Was he killing people, people that could have been saved otherwise, wasn’t he ?

But who could blame him ? It was him or them.

 

_Blood on the ground…_

 

Just like the dance started, it finished, with him in his knees, all dirty with blood, on his face and clothes and with hands trembling. He hadn’t shred a tears and he felt nothing inside. Whatever force had taken control over his body for the last hours was gone and left nothing, not even pain, not even… sadness.

He was staring right in the green dead eyes of Isabel’s head and he hadn’t even realized it until now. So, her head was what had left of her ?

She had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen, two little emeralds that shone with youth, desire to live, innocence and courage. A light that he’d never had.

 

_Blood all around him…_

 

 

But Levi would never forget… that face… those green eyes… that head… that lay on the grass… isolated from the others… like it was doom to die alone. Like the death itself knew hat person was different, that didn’t belong to that world.

 

…

 

_‘Ackerman…’_

 

The young who had been observing the entire scene hidden in the darkness was looking at the raven hair man with surprise, fear and admiration.

That man maybe had no idea of what had just happen to him, but the young man did and couldn’t refrain from smiling. That man was special, precious and he needed to be protected. He needed that man to live.

Only him could understand how rare was the Ackerman blood type and also how dangerous could be if one of those titans accidentally killed him.

He couldn’t stop looking at that wonderful and dangerous creature, specially because he was convinced that all Ackerman were dead or kidnapped. He didn’t even know if they had other names other than Ackerman, if they were all aware of the importance of their blood or not. Tybur Industries had been hunting and kidnapping people whose had the so called ‘special blood type’ and named them under the same name, Ackerman.

He smiled.

Ackerman and Titans’ fate were intertwined forever it seemed…

 

_‘Armin… Frieda… have you seen him ? What he has done ? I want him away from here’_

 

_‘I will take care of this’ answered Frieda ‘You and Armin take care of the War Hammer, I’m done with that traitor’_

 

_‘Okay, I have a plan’_

 

Then, the favorite child of Paradise Island tore the sky with his scream.


	4. Deals and Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know how to recognize a desperate soul
> 
> -Rumpelstiltskin, Once Upon a Time

MARLEY 2097… THREE DAYS LATER … 12 SEPTEMBER

 

_‘I’m still alive…’_

It was the first thing that came into his mind when he opened his eyes, but the light in his room was too blinding and he was forced to close them again.

Where was he ? Since he couldn’t open his eyes, he tried to use the other senses. He used his fingers and felt under them something soft, covers. Also he could feel something that wrapped his middle finger, probably an oximeter. Then his nose and he could feel smell of medicines and disinfectant. He used his ears and but he couldn’t distinguish any sounds.

Nevertheless he was sure that he was laying on a bed into a medical room.

He tried to open his eyes again, until the light became more bearable and he could finally focus the room where he was. He’d guessed, he was into a medical room.

He heard someone sliding a key card and then the door got opened and he saw Hanji entering, followed by Mike, Moblit and Keith Shadis.

 

“You woke up, I’m glad” said Hanji checking the electrocardiogram “the heartbeat is regular”

 

Then she took out of her pocket a penlight and asked “Look here”

 

“Hanji, I’m fine, please” said Erwin gently moving her hand “Please tell me you didn’t take advantage on my state to lead strange experiment on me”

 

“Don’t worry cap” said Hanji giving him a painful pat on his shoulder “I testified long time ago that, even though you have your privates, you remain an asexual creature”

 

“Major !” Yelled Moblit indignant.

 

“No need, Moblit. What do I have the pleasure for Shadis ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“As your former commander, I’m still feel somehow responsible for your actions, as your new alley, I’m here to support you, as I’ve never done before. You will need”

 

“So, there have been developments while I was incapacitated”

 

“Yes, but first, I need to ask you, what do you remember about that night before fainting ?” Asked Hanji

 

“I remember… the monsters… the corps on the ground… Levi, he killed all those monsters alone and he survived. Where he is ?” Asked Erwin hoping that that man hadn’t run away before he could convince him to join the Scouts.

 

“One problem at time. Do you remember something else ?”

 

Erwin closed his eyes and sighed “You would think I’m crazy”

 

“Actually I’ve been thinking it since the first day we met, when you actually accepted my application” said Hanji winking “But, seriously, what do you remember ?”

 

Erwin sighed again then he though about that night, elaborating everything he could remember. His memories were confused and he was beginning to have headache, but there was one particularly memory he couldn’t erase from his mind. One of those monsters, similar and different at the same time. It was a titan tall 60 m, without skin, exposing all his muscular and skeletal apparatus, able to generate enormous amounts to eat. Erwin couldn’t remember to have ever felt so hot in his life. Not hot, it was like his entire body was on hire.

Due to the amount of heat the air had become unbreathable and probably he lost his senses after that.

 

“Sublime, is the only word that suits that creature”

 

“Sublime ?” Asked Mike shocked “I was at your side and before to faint I almost start crying for the fear”

 

Erwin shrugged, he’d never been normal, so his opinions.

Sublime, it referred to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, of rationality, the excite thoughts and emotions beyond ordinary experience.

He couldn’t avoid to think about one of the poem of William Wordsworth, ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’, where he found the sublime in the Nature, the beautiful in its form but also the terror. That was exactly what Erwin had felt since he put his eyes on those creatures. The beautiful of their powerful body, the savage ignorance, their strength.

Erwin would have got on his knees in front of that terrific and splendid scenario, which proved further how mad he actually was.

He suspected something else too. That what happened that night, wasn’t an accident, but it was all planned. Maybe by Mr Tybur himself or someone who was so powerful to oblige him to kill himself. It was clear from Magath’s fear that he and probably everyone at the party wasn’t aware of what was happening. That meant that Tybur Industries had other enemies, other people determinate to take them down, maybe the contact that promised to Erwin to show him the truth, maybe it was the same who had sent the files to him.

 

“At least now I know that you’ve seen the same things, otherwise I should fear for my mental sanity”

 

“So I used to think, before someone sent a file to us. There are all the proofs that Tybur Industries were leading human experimentation to develop a serum. I won’t go into the details, but we have them in our palms” said Hanji.

 

“Where are Magath and his men ?”

 

“They ran away, somehow, with one of those monsters”

 

“The ones with female traits ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“No, it was a male one. It wasn’t difficult seeing him, it was tall, maybe 15 m, his body was all covered with plated, segments of hardened skin that protect him. Almost like an armature. Luckily he didn’t notice our presence, but he ran in the wood and it was possible seeing that he had something, or someone in his hands and on his shoulders”

 

Erwin wasn’t content of the news. It was so frustrating, he had Magath so close and yet that piece of shit managed to find an escape. Well, at least now it was only a matter of time before the man would be found and imprisoned for his crimes, or worse, killed by one of those monsters. Erwin was convinced that he wouldn’t stop, that the Tybur Industries wouldn’t stop. They would continue their research, maybe at that point, their first move would be trying to attack and conquer Paradise Island.

‘I bet that place is more like Hell’ he thought.

He could only imagine the maze of nightmares and terrors that had been created on that island.

 

“So, you didn’t see any other of those giants ?”

 

“Titans, in the files sent to us, they called those creature Titans. The name itself is so cool !” Exclaimed Hanji who even started drooling.

 

“Major !” Exclaimed Moblit passing a tissue to the woman.

 

“Sorry Moblit, but I can’t help it. Have you seen that creature ? If sublime is Erwin’s word, mine if beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and more I read those files, the more I want to put my hands on one of those creatures and study them”

 

“I remember you that those monsters used to be persons” replicated weakly Moblit.

 

“Used to, you said tight !”

 

She had that crazy look in her eyes that was able to scare any person away.

Erwin sighed. He would read all those files later. He wanted to read all of them and only then trying to elaborate something. He was almost sure that the first move Magath and the other would try to do would be invading Paradise. It was too late for them to try covering the truth or destroyed the proofs of their experiments, specially after the death of all those people, who weren’t people at random, but members of the richest family of the entire Marley. Illustrious personalities of whom it would have been extremely difficult to hide the disappearance.

Erwin couldn’t believe that that day had finally arrived. The last three days were a living hell, for him and his men. He still wasn’t fully recovered and his mind couldn’t stop to think about the event happened in that mansion, in that damn garden.

The thunders…

The madness…

The Titans…

That was how the Tybur Industries called those monsters. After that night, he knew that at some point he and the few survivors lost their senses and when he recovered he found himself and Levi surrounded by the other members of the Scouts, who had come searching for him. Hanji, one of the members, told him that someone had sent to them files about secret experiments that Tybur Industries had been conducting, human experimentations, to elaborate a serum that could allow people to live forever, or at least that was the intention. Instead the serum turned all those people in cannibal monsters. Now finally he had some answers and he didn’t want to waste more time.

 

“I will read all the files as soon as possible. Now, I want you to tell me something else…”

 

 

…

 

Levi should have expected it. One moment he was on the ground, on the point of dying and the other one he woke up in a medical bed that could be opened only from the outside with a key card, with an oximeter, handcuffs at both his wrists and a crazy four eyes psychopath for nurse. Excellent !

He wouldn’t have any problem to set himself free from those hateful handcuffs, but he wasn’t sure that he would manage to escape from there. Damn, he didn’t even know where he was, how many floors the building had, if there were other floors, where he was supposed to go to escape. If there were guards outside and how many. Also, his back hurt, a little and so his neck. It was a miracle that he hadn’t been paralyzed because of the impact with the ground, after that violent explosion. In all that chaos, there was something that he remembered clearly.

Green eyes, no, not even green, turquoise. A color so rare and beautiful at the same time that he couldn’t even define with precision.

He didn’t even know for sure whether they were real or if his mind imagined. It would be a pity, they were really beautiful.

A part from them, everything else was simply disgusting. Those cannibals monsters, were real for sure and so the fact that he’d killed them all somehow. Those people… the gas… Isabel’s head… everything was real and he wanted only forget everything. The heat of those bodies, their dumb expression and the smell of sweat and blood. That force that had possessed his body… that force… that turned him into… he couldn’t even think about it.

He closed his eyes, sure that if he continued to talk about it, he would throw up.

He was so immerse in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear the door opening, until he realize he wasn’t alone in the room. Erwin Smith. That man, he was supposed to kill, had saved and cured him, the life was so weird.

 

“I’m glad you woke up. How do you feel ?” Asked Erwin politely.

 

“I’ve felt worse. Have you arrested me ?” Asked Levi moving his wrists to emphasize the handcuffs.

 

“No, why should I ? I’m not a cop anymore, not exactly. Let’s say, I work more in the shadow now”

 

“Secret Service ?”

 

“Let’s say, in the last few years I’ve just been on my own. My former captain lent me some money and now with the proof I collected the night ago, I will be take more seriously”

 

“You said that you suspected Tybur Industries was leading human experimentation. You were right, those monsters were people”

 

“Titans, that’s their name”

 

“Not particularly original, but it suits them anyway” commented Levi sighing “So, you’re not a cop, I’m not under arrest and you practically dragged my ass here so… you want something from me, am I right ?”

 

Erwin smiled pleased. Levi was smarter than he thought. His abrasive behavior could make him look like one of those brainless stray dogs, all muscles without brain, but Levi was smart and cunning and he had something that Erwin wanted desperately. The blond man had still in his mind the actions of the other man. His fury, his movements, that Danse Macabre that killed all those monsters.

 

“How did you do it ?” He simply asked without adding nothing else.

 

Words weren’t needed. Levi perfectly understood what he was referring to. His mortal dance that allowed him to kill all those titans. Erwin wanted to understand more, wanted to learn more. What Levi did there nights ago, wasn’t normal, no human would ever be able to do something like that. It was like something in his body had reacted to the titans.

 

“No idea. I’ve never felt something like that before. I was here… on the ground and the second after… my body did… that. I don’t even know how to explain it”

 

“Is something hereditary ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“Probably. I’d lived with a man, my uncle, for four years of my life, and he during that period he once told me that I had nothing to worry about because, he always knew what needed to be done. Sometimes, he…”

 

“Did the same things you did the three nights ago ?”

 

“I thought I was dreaming. I don’t remember much about my childhood. I remember living with mom and my sister, but I was little and I don’t even remember their name. Just know that one night, my mother left our home and never come back again. Then me and my sister were entrusted to social assistances. She was adopted and one year later my uncle found me and adopted me. That’s the story of my life” said Levi without a particular tone.

 

Levi knew he wasn’t being completely sincere, but he would tell all the truth when he could be sure to trust Erwin completely, after knowing him better. For the moment, Levi didn’t even know what Erwin was going to do with him, if he was under arrest or not.

Mikasa wasn’t his sister, but step sister and he remembered his mother’s name and also her job. The men who used to come and go in their house, their dirty words, their moans, the smell of their sweat and sperm on the blankets, their dirty money.

Levi hated those pigs with every cell of his body and so did his step sister. The worst part was knowing that his mother was doing that for them, in order to have foods on their table. Her illness wasn’t deadly, she could have made a full recovery if they could have afford the proper treatment, but her money could barely cover their daily basis. But that was a story for another time and if he preferred to pretend not to remember anything at all of that time.

Erwin was too much cunning for his own good and too much of an observant, he was also wary of people, he put everything in discussion and took everything for false.

He simply took in consideration that people always lied about something, he himself was a lier and a manipulator, consequentially he didn’t expect something different from others.

He knew that Levi was lying, in some part of the story and the blond wasn’t going to push it. For the moment, he needed to convince him to collaborate with him, to join the Scouts.

 

“Okay, one truth remain, you have something special, something I need and that’s why I’m here to offer you to join the Scouts”

 

“Scouts ?” Asked Levi with a grimace.

 

“Another name not particularly original, I know. What do you think ?”

 

“I think that, despite what people think about you, you’re a resourceful man who knows how to get what he wants. If I say no, you will arrest me, am I right ?”

 

“Yes” answered Erwin sincerely “After all, you infiltrated into a Mansion, trying to steal something and you also tried to kill me. With some research, I will easily find more proof to send you in jail, but you will be wasted there. I want your potential instead”

 

“There’s no potential in me. What happened three nights ago was a mere spur of the moment. I leaded my… friends right into their grave. I’m a failure”

“No please, don’t” said Erwin coming a little closer, grabbing a chair that was close to a wall and sat on it.

 

“Don’t do what ?”

 

If you begin to regret, you’ll dull your future and decision and let others make your choices for you. All that’s left for you is to die”

 

“Any man will eventually die, I’m not different. Isabel and Furlan… I knew I could have lost them anytime due to our lifestyle, but in the end they died for my mistake, because I convinced them to split up. It was a decision of my”

 

“Then let me tell you that nobody can foretell the outcome and each decision you make holds meaning only by affecting your next decision”

 

“So, you’re basically telling me that my latest decision had lent my friends to their deaths and now, I only have to chosewether I want my nexts one to sent me in jail or in your… squad ? Fine, I’m in”

 

“You are ?” Asked Erwin surprised.

 

He’d expected that it would required more time and more threats.

 

“Everything is better than jail. I’ve been in reformatory for some year, it was terrible. Jail can’t be better, Scouts ? Maybe, at least here I’m a free man and I want to be free, more than anything else”

 

Levi couldn’t say that he was dying to work with that eyebrows suicidal blockhead, but he didn’t want to go in jail, he wouldn’t be able to honor his friends there. The only reason why Farlan and Isabel put their lives at risk was to start a new life together, a better life. Levi didn’t deserve a better life, or at least it would be pointless now that he’d lost the two people whose he considered his family, but that didn’t mean he had to waste his life.

There was something, in him, something that he wanted to understand and he also wanted protection.

 

“Can you guarantee me that I’m safe here ?”

 

“Depends, what do you mean to be safe ?”

“If someone over us survived three nights ago, then they surely will tell to someone who works for the Tybur Industries, which means that they surely will tell about me and then I will be safe nowhere”

 

If there was something worse than prison, it was become the new guinea pig of those pieces of shit. Levi wouldn’t allow them to put even a finger on him and he was ready to kill or die to prevent them from capturing him.

After seeing what they were capable of, the last thing he wanted was to become some of that… Titans. In prison, it would be more difficult protect himself. At least there, with Scouts, he could count on someone, someone who was determinate to bring down the pharmaceutical giant.

Erwin nodded and he barely stopped himself from smiling in satisfaction. That was another good point he didn’t think about. If Magath was still out there, he surely was, then he wouldn’t hesitate to capture Levi if necessity came.

All the soldiers died while they were fighting some monsters and if he escape with only one of the Titan, it meant that the other one, the Female one was dead and probably even the faceless one. Erwin hoped so, he hated the idea of two monsters like that free to do whatever they wanted, without a proper control.

 

“There’s only one question I want you to answer before.”

 

“Shoot” said Levi rolling his eyes.

  
“Who’s holding the gun at my head ?”

Levi smirked. He was the gun ah ? Erwin Smith loved metaphors, got it. Levi liked talking more frankly.

 

“I really don’t know. Farlan was the one who had the contacts. I wasn’t exactly the social butterfly, but Farlan knew the right people, but he didn’t talk about them and I didn’t ask. It was more efficient that way in case some of us got caught”

 

“Smart move” commented Erwin with a smirk.

 

“Not so smart now that he’s dead, but he was very meticulous. I knew that he had a booklet where he wrote down the names of his contacts, meeting places, respective dates and times. It is encrypted, but not impossible to encode.”

 

“Where is now the booklet ?”

 

“At home.”

 

“Good, we will go there as soon as we can. We have a lot of things to do and too little time”

 

Erwin needed just a moment to organize all his ideas. He needed that booklet to know who was aiming a gun at his head, but he also needed to find Magath and stopped him. He knew that now Magath would have tried anything to conquer Paradise Island, but first, he would need men, money, weapons, a plan.

He needed to find the closest base possessed by Tybur Industries, Magath would be there but he had no idea how to find it, maybe some of them weren’t even registered, after all, Mr Tybur was a man full of secrets and intimately he’d been acting very paranoid and Erwin could understand why.

 

“Okay, I have something in my mind, if luck is on our side, we will finally put Magath behind bars”

 

…

 

UNDERGROUND BASE…

 

Magath was pissed, not, not pissed, furious.

After all the events happen three nights ago, he and the few survivors had been hiding into an underground facility that was situated under the training center. It wasn’t wise remaining there for too much, since he sure that Erwin Smith was already preparing everything to arrest him and that the first place where he would look for them would be the Mansion, to be sure that everything had been destroyed or if he could found something else.

Erwin Smith was a smart man, too smart for his own good and Magath knew that it was only a matter of time before the blond learnt about the underground basement.

They needed to reach the base in Lago city. There it was everything they needed to contain the damages. He needed to advise the other members, he needed to tell them what he’d learnt, what had happen in that Mansion and warn them of the danger.

Their facility in Lago wasn’t known, it was located under another Mansion owned by Willy Tybur. He maybe had to advice the remaining members of Tybur’s Family of the recent event, but Magath could not be sure to trust them anymore.

Whatever happened three nights ago, It was all orchestrated by Tybur and his creepy sister, so who could assure him that no other members were involved or aware of the plan. After all, everyone was aware that the latest Paradise Island had cost more than the previous one and it wasn’t only about money, but credibility, reputation and staff. Tybur Industries were risking a bankrupt and it was only a matter of time before someone learnt about the illegal experimentation and all the crimes committed.

Magath couldn’t say that he knew Mr Tybur, he had seen the man four or five times at most, and the late President looked like a composed, rational man, not a delusion with suicidal tendencies.

If that the recent events represented a desperate attempt of Tybur to bring the Industries down with him, then he definitively succeeded. Magath didn’t see any escape from that mess, he and his colleagues could only limit the damages.

 

“Oh shit…” he said passing an hand on his face.

 

He was tired. He’d barely slept for three days, always staying on alert, ready to act in case Erwin Smith and someone else found their hideout. Now he was inside one of the offices in the underground basement. He was there because he needed peace to think and try to figure it out a way to resolve all that mess.

The office itself was quite a mess, it was tiny, dusty and it looked more like a storage where people used to throw old documents and notes at random. The desk’s surface was barely visible due to all the collectors, papers and pens.

 

“Commander Magath… can I come in ?” Asked a voice outside the office.

 

It was Colt Grice.

 

“Come in” he said.

 

The door got opened and Colt entered.

 

“Commander Magath, I wanted to tell you that I finally succeeded to get in contact with Lago facility. Tom Xaver wants to talk with you”

 

“Coming” said Magath standing up.

 

Magath couldn’t put it up with Xaver. In his opinion that four eyes scientist was an eccentric, curious, meddler mad man and, even though Magath could easily K.O him, Xaviel was still able to scare him sometimes. He had that terrific habit of drooling while he was leading an experiment and he had that laugh…

Magath was still blessing God when he’d been moved in the Training Center from Lago’s facilities.

He and Colt crossed different corridors, then they arrived in front of an electronic door that could be opened only with an ID wristband possessed by Magath and few other members of the recruits. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough for all the survivors, which limited their movements, so they had to move in groups.

They arrived in the infirmary, where Reiner, Pieck and Armin were checking on an sleeping Annie Leonhart. Annie hadn’t woken up yet and her wounds were still healing. It was a miracle if she was still alive though. Fighting alone against the War Hammer Titan and the Colossal Titan alone hadn’t been easy for her. The Colossal’s appearance was totally unexpected…

 

…

 

_‘We need to get out of here’_

_Magath had only that in his mind. It didn’t matter whether he and the others were immune to the serum or whether the recruits’ faces were covered with the masks, they needed to go. Annie had to feel free of fighting without the fear of trampling on someone accidentally._

_He knew where they had to go, it wouldn’t be too far from there._

 

_“Reiner…” he said putting an hand on the other’s shoulder “We need to go… We need to leave, NOW !!”_

 

_It seemed like Reiner hadn’t heard him because he wasn’t moving, he was remaining there, knees on the ground, closed eyes and lowered head. Magath was done with such attitude, if he could turn into a Titan he would have eaten Reiner himself only to obtain the Armored Titan._

 

_“Reiner, come one !!”_

 

_Reiner didn’t want to move, he hoped that one of those Titan would eat him alive and finally gave him the bless of death. He was tired of living, he was tired of reviving that nightmare over and over again. He was tired of living into a world of monsters, he was tired of being one of them. He wanted to die, to be free._

 

_“Reiner !! It’s an order, move !!”_

 

_‘I can’t…’_

_Reiner wanted to say it but he couldn’t, just like he couldn’t do anything else but dying slowly inside. He didn’t even have the courage to look up at Annie, left to fighting alone against the War Hammer Titan, abandoned by him, due to his cowardice. If she survived that mess and then wished to kill him, he would probably glad for it, would remain still and let the girl eating him. He was falling in pieces on that ground and he wondered why Magath didn’t simply give up and escape, specially after the death of all those men._

_Magath took the gun out of its sheath._

 

_“ I sweat to God, Reiner… if you don’t turn now, I’m going to shot you right in the head”_

 

_‘Bang, bang’, Reiner wanted almost laugh. What a cruel thing to say, Magath knew that a bulled in the head wouldn’t have killed, that Reiner would have survived, with a bullet in his head though, because it would have been incredibly hard to remove from his head. Reiner wondered for a moment if that bullet would have made his mind more insane. He hoped that Magath would pull the trigger._

_He closed his eyes, ready to welcome a temporary death when another explosion caught his attention and Magath’s as well. It was in that moment then they saw it, the Colossal Titan. They didn’t think they would ever see it again. How could it be possible ? Why was it here ?_

_Magath realized pretty soon that it wasn’t Berthold to control the Titan, it was someone else. That Colossal titan was slimmer, shorter and its heat was bearable, even though the shifter’d turned so close to them._

 

_“How can this be possible ?” Muttered Reiner “Someone’s using the Colossal Titan against us…”_

 

_“Someone other member of the Tybur’s family ? Was it the family that had been hiding the Colossal Titan from them all those years ? Why ? They already had the War Hammer, what was the point in hiding the Colossal too ? What if that family of psychopaths orchestrated the Paradise’s Incident too ? Was it all a way to obtain the full control over Ymir Serum ?_

_All it took was a second, then the Colossal Titan kicked the ground, making all the ground trembling around him. Dust, ash and smoke covered his legs and obliged everyone to close their eyes._

_Annie’s Titan was faster, it could easily avoid the other’s attacks but it was also true that one hit from the other would be enough to defeat, or worse, kill her._

_The War Hammer Titan took advantage of her fear to destroy the other half of her face with an arrow, so Annie had just the time to escape from the the nape and protect herself into a crystal, before the War Hammer Titan grabbed the dying body of the Female Titan and lifted it only to let it lend on one of hid hardening knees, splitting it in two. It wasn’t a pretty view, since it could be possible seeing the vertebral column and organs coming out of the two parts._

 

_“Oh shit !! We gotta go, now !!”_

 

_Magath shoot Reiner, who instantly turned into his Armored Titan. He grasped with one hand the crystal where Annie was then he grabbed Magath with the other hand and started running away._

_The War Hammer tried to reach them but the Colossal stopped it._

_The Armored Titan didn’t turn around, he didn’t want to see or know, he simply wanted to escape from there. Magath instead turned just once to see the Colossal burning all the ground around the War Hammer Titan._

 

_…_

 

Magath sat on a desk, in front of a laptop where he could see Xaver’s face. The idiot hadn’t realized that Magath was looking at him, so he was humming something, shaking his shoulders and moving his head.

Magath tried to caught the other’s attention with a cough, but the other instead began singing louder at the point to make Magath losing his patience.

 

“Doctor Xaver !” He exclaimed loud.

 

The man screamed then he fell on the floor. He put an hand on his desk, then he sat on the chair again and it was clear that he was caressing his back with the other hand.

Doctor Tom Xaver was a man with round face, with short black hair, who wore glasses that made him look like a Minions.

 

“You shouldn’t be so abrupt when you greet someone, Magath”

 

“You shouldn’t distract so easily, specially not right now”

“Why ? What happened ?”

 

Magath told him everything. The party, Erwin Smith Mr Tybur’s speech, his death, Lyla Tybur, the War Hammer Titan, the Female Titan and the Colossal Titan.

Xaver listened any word with attention, impassive, composed, like Magath was exposing to him the results of a scientific research instead of a carnage.

 

“What do you think ? We’ve been sat up by the Tybur ? Did they sell the Colossal Titan to some other organization ?” Asked Xaver.

 

“I wish I’ve answer.” Answered Magath.

 

“Mr Tybur was pretty paranoid about the possibility that Ymir serum could ended up in the hands of other organizations, it would’t make sense that he sent a sample himself to someone. He invited Erwin Smith only to kill him once and for all because that man was investigating the Tybur Industries”

 

“How did you know it ?” Asked Magath.

 

“Because there can’t be any other reason to invite the blond. It’s logical” answered Xaver shrugging “Specially if he was planning to kill all the guests. Nevertheless, if Smith is still alive, then we’re in troubles and three days have already passed”

 

“Well, if you didn’t know any of this and no now has come snooping around then it meant that Smith is dead, so we don’t need to worry about it, but we can’t keep what happen hidden forever.”

 

Magath wanted to believe it, but there was something that didn’t convince him. He knew that Erwin Smith had been investigating on Tybur Industries, everyone knew, that was why they were ordered to report immediately if they saw the blond man near to one of the facilities.

Erwin Smith could be a dead man but surely he wasn’t a fool to accept an invitation for a party full of people who wanted him dead, not without a backup plan. If Erwin couldn’t, then maybe other people were now out there aware of the truth and ready to hunt them down.

‘That’s what happen when things are dealt with negligence’ thought Magath.

 

“So, if Tybur didn’t sell the serum to another organization, who’s controlling the Colossal Titan now ?”

“I don’t know. Christ, I don’t even know who’s in possess of the War Hammer Titan too. Everything is a mess”

 

“Okay, so what do you expect me to do ? I can’t evacuate an entire facility without…”

 

“You don’t have to evacuate anything, everything has to look as normal as possible. Get in contact with the other facilities and give them the coordinate for this underground basement. We need to conquer Paradise Island, only there we will be save”

  
“Conquer Paradise Island ? Have you completely lost your mind ?”exclaimed Xaver stunned “That damn place is full of titans, any attempt ended up into a carnage”

 

Magath knew he was asking too much, that probably he looked crazier than Xaver right now but there wasn’t another choice to make.

He looked at Annie, who was still sleeping, he looked at Reiner, who was keeping her hand and who had almost killed the both of them, he thought at Berthold who had been eaten by someone and all the other warriors, and the more he thought about them the more he was convinced that there was no other solution than conquer Paradise again. The walls built on the island were special, were indestructible, behind them they would be save. No one would dare to attack them on an island full of cannibal monsters.

Magath didn’t intend to live there forever, but it was the only way to earn some time, to improve the serum and to avoid the prison.

 

“I know but only there we will be able to defend ourself. I have an idea to save our butts but everyone must to do their part”

 

Magath was tired of explaining himself with that idiot but he also knew that no one would be capable of dealing with the problem as much as Xaver.

Xaver was a wise and meticulous man, provident who never made reckless moves, he was also very intelligent and totally capable of directing an entire facility alone. He wasn’t first head of Tybur’s executive training school for nothing.

 

“Okay, tell me what I have to do”

 

He didn’t know that, while he was explained his intention to his colleague, there was someone who listened carefully every words he said.

 

 

…

 

 

PARADISE ISLAND…

 

“Do you really thing they would come here ?” Asked Freida at the young man at her side.

 

She, Marco and the young man were sitting on the Wall Maria, the third and last Wall the surrounded thatno longer facility of Tybur Industries. They were sitting there and admiring the horizon in silence, at least until that moment.

The burden of the knowledge of what they started together three night ago was palpable, they could feel it in the air they were breathing, in the silences full of screams, in those corridors reconstructed on foundations made of blood, bones and crystal. They could taste it in the tears that sometimes they needed to shred.

They all were afraid of what would happen from that moment.

 

“They would try, this will be the only place where they can be safe once the world will learn what they have done here” said Marco.

 

“So, what’s the plan ? Are we going to wait for them ?”

 

“No” answered the young man “No more waiting. I’ve waited eighteen years to see the sun, I’ve no intention of waiting for anything else anymore. We will attack again. We will anticipate them”

 

“What ? Do you plan to get out of Paradise Island now that Tybur Industry is probably organizing a Titan hunt ?” Asked Marco stunned.

 

“Yes” answered simply the other one “Now that we have the War Hammer Titan in our possession no one will be able to stop us. I’m not planning another carnage. I simply wanted to erase the Industries before they put a foot on our Island”

 

“If they attempt to conquer the island again, then they are desperate” commented Frieda.

 

“Indeed, Tybur Industries had caused two incidents due to Ymir serum, now that the President himself lost his life, the government will not remain impassible, not if the media can’t hide it either. Not matter how weird or unfair can be this world, if important people die, then consequences are guaranteed” explained Marco.

 

The young man didn’t say anything. He was actually reflecting about the other’s words. Were the worlds rules actually those ? Nothing changes if catastrophes didn’t hit rich people ?

So no one of them were important enough for the world, or their screams would have been enough to send someone to save them from Hell.

The young man didn’t turn behind, he didn’t need, to remembered what he’d been put through for eighteen years. Years of loneliness, locked up into four white walls, wondering about a freedom that it would never come at least not without a fight and a price payed with blood.

He didn’t need to looked behind to live again that nightmare…

 

…

 

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2089… MARCH 30th

 

_‘It’s my eleventh birthday today…’ he thought, looking at the white ceiling._

_He was wondering why he continued to keep the track of them, it wasn’t like something change. Since he could remember, his birthday were all the same. Alone, in that white room, with the nurses who came and went away for withdrawals, to measure its vital parameters and to bring him his meals. Only at the end of the day his father brought him a present, a book, or a toy, nothing fancy, nothing important._

_It looked more like his father brought him those presents to remember himself that his son was important somehow, that any father was supposed to give presents to their son._

_He looked at his other presents, an old teddy bear, a notebook with a box of colors, two books for children, a puzzle and other things like that, all stacked up in a corner of the room, since in that room there was only a bedroom, a little desk with a chair and a door that leaded to the bathroom._

_He sighed._

_He didn’t care about any of the things inside the room. He simply looked with hatred the grey door that kept him separated from the world, that prevented him to see the sea._

_The sea… he fell in love with it since the first time that he saw it. His father gave him a puzzle that represented the sea. At the beginning he didn’t understand what that immense pool of water was, but then his father explained him that that ‘pool’ was the sea, an immense expanse of salt water, where it could be possible to find different kind of fishes, corals and even treasures._

_It was one of the few precious moments he remembered._

_So, like a tradition, the day of his birthday he entertained himself with that puzzle and piece after piece he and his imagination created the life, the fishes they could find in the seas, the treasures that one day he would be able to find._

_‘Someday, when you will be cured… we will see the sea together’_

_That was what his father always told him, but anytime he asked him if they could see the sea, his father always denied him, telling him that he was still too ill to get out of his room and then he was left alone in that white._

_Would he ever see the sea ? Would he ever heal ? He was so tired of being there, he wanted to go outside, to be sure that the sea actually existed, that there was a real goal worthy to be waiting for._

_Even now, while he was composing that puzzle in his own mind, a puzzle he could compose with closed eyes, he wondered if the sea was actually salt or sweet, if it was so immense or not. If there’s a point where it encountered the sky._

_Why couldn’t he find out the answers by himself ?_

_Why did he have to stay in that room full of mirrors ? Oh, he knew that there were people out there that observed him, steadily, ready to write down any strange behavior, ready to intervene if he became aggressive, something that had happened often recently._

_How could he not when he had that monster inside ? That monster, that looked so much like him and was different at the same time._

_That monster that whispered in his ears, that visited him in his nightmares, that invaded his mind. Why no one tried to save him from it ?_

 

_“Someday…” he whispered looking at the puzzle “… Someday… I will see the sea. I only have to be patient. Daddy promised me”_

 

_One day he would be out of there, one day he would be free._

_…_

 

“We won’t wait for them to destroy our home, We will destroy any possibility of saving their butts first. The closest facility is situated in Lago. We will go there”

 

“Lago is far from here.” Commented Marco.

 

“I know, but if I learnt something on Tybur Industries is that they get advantage of their own mistakes to improve their public imagine”

 

“How can they be able to do that ?” Asked Frieda skeptical.

 

“Easy” answered Marco “Mr Tybur gave them a perfect scapegoat. The delusional disturbed patriarch of Tybur Family was aware that no one was willing to save him from bankrupt that time, so to avoid any shame he used the serum to kill his investors and collaborators to avoid that anyone could put their hands on his organization.”

 

“Do you think that someone would believe it ?” Asked Frieda.

 

“Given the circumstances, how could someone not believe it ?” Asked the young man.

 

“Furthermore, the remaining members of the organization will take advantage of the situation to look like heroes. The army of redeemers that put their live in danger to end the madness created by President Tybur. No one would believe anymore that all the members are involved. Some of them may go in prison, other…”

 

“Other will continue to work on the serum and the story will repeat” concluded Frieda.

 

“We can’t let it happen. After all those years, we finally have a chance to win our freedom and we will. Also, I don’t intend to remain on this island forever” he said standing up.

 

“What ? What do you mean ?” Asked Marco looking at him like he was crazy.

 

“Exactly what I’ve just said. I’ve been a prisoner on this island for eighteen years, I don’t intend to die here and die like a rat in a cage. I want to be free, I want to see the world. Don’t you get it ?”

 

“This is…”

 

“Don’t say it. Don’t you get it ? This is not a shelter, it’s a prison, ours. We won’t be safe here forever, we will never live here only survive. If not today, then tomorrow someone will try to conquer the island and to turn us into guinea pigs again. If we don’t fight now, then we will be better find a way to chose how to die ourselves”

 

“I agreed” said Frieda “Tybur Industries won’t stop until the serum isn’t perfect. Even though we managed to take down the Tybur, who can guarantees us that some other corporation or even the world itself won’t be ready to destroy us all ? Humans will never accept us”

 

“So we have to fight” said the boy “I have a plan but I need you to accomplish it.

 

He wouldn’t let his people got killed, he wouldn’t let someone else destroy their freedom. It didn’t matter if they had to fight violence with violence, he would have no remorse, no hesitation. He knew already that, not matter what decision he would make, he knew there would be blood, he could only try to protect their people protecting them with all himself.

Unfortunately, they were born into a world that didn’t accept those who were different, that leaned easily on the victims the sins of their executioners and hardly forgave.

Well, he had no intention of beg for his right to live, to love, to be free, to see the world.

A world that had been cruel with him and his kind… and yet he considered it beautiful.

 

 

“Lago is the closest, but we won’t stop there. Armin will get in contact with me and I bet he will confirm my theory”

 

….

 

LAGO

 

Xaver had just concluded his conversation with Magath when he felt an hand on his shoulder. He jumped then he turned around and sighed.

 

“Zeke, someone day you will cause me an heart attack, how can you be move so silently ?” He asked.

 

“The training as recruit wasn’t waste of time after all. I came here to bring you coffee” said Zeke putting a cup of coffee on Xaver’s desk.

 

“Thank you, what would I do without you ?” Asked Xaver.

 

“You would live into a world dominated by entropy” answered Zeke winking.

 

Xaver laughed. Zeke was totally right. His office was a total mess. His desk was entirely covered with papers, notes, graphics, markers and highlighters. His books were dispersed in the room, some were on the carpet next to his desk, others on the library, but they weren’t disposed an orderly manner. On the no longer blue light walls were written scientific formulas, some of them senseless. There were also two blackboards, with formulas written on them too. There were no personal items inside, a part from a funny Minions Led. Xaver looked exactly like a Minion, according to Zeke.

Nevertheless, Zeke adored stay there, that room was full of life, somehow, it was welcoming and there was a sweet perfume of cinnamon due to the scented candles that Xaver loved to turn on.

Zeke used to be one of the recruits of the training center, but when his superior realized how smart he was they sent him in the Lago facility to complete his studies. There Xaver took him as student. When it came to train new generation of researches, Xaver actually preferred ignoring them completely. Instead he ordered his personal assistant to oversight them during the training. Nevertheless, something in Zeke caught his attention, he’d considered the blond like a son since the first time they talked, when Zeke dared to say in front of the other researchers that Xaver’s theory was wrong, and it was. Zeke was capable of proving it. After that day, they started working together and Xaver taught Zeke everything he knew.

 

“I thought I already did it.” Said Xaver.

 

“It can be worse. What’s happening ?”

 

“A disaster” answered Xaver.

 

Tom told him everything he’d learnt from Magath and Zeke listened everything carefully. If there was another thing that he and Tom had in common was that both of them cared little about the ideals and goals of Tybur Industries.

Tom himself once confessed to Zeke that he decided to join the Industries only after seeing the first titan with his eyes, considering them far more interesting than any possible achievement that the organization wanted to accomplish.

Zeke often questioned how could a serum like the Ymir ones be useful for the world. It was flawed, under so many aspects and a lot of lives had been ruined because of it, included his.

Zeke didn’t even want to work for the Industries like his father used to, he was there only because he had to, because he was…. He was…

 

 

“Yes, it’s a disaster or…” he muttered “Maybe, it’s the opportunity we’ve been waiting all this time” he said shrugging.

 

“What do you mean ?”

 

“I mean that this is an opportunity we can’t ignore. Magath is determinate to make someone sink to repay the damages made by the President, because he himself has the hands dirty. Well, I don’t agree with him”

 

“Zeke… we’ve talked about this millions times…”

 

“Listen, this is the third incident connected to the organization, I don’t think that the government will concede us another possibility. Magath is right when he says that someone has to be used like a scapegoat, but it doesn’t have to be one of us. The Warrior Unit is the one involved with the dead of so many people, it was also the one charged to control Paradise Island. The scientists could be saved”

 

“You’re talking like you’re no part of the Industries”

“I’m talking like someone who wants to be out of this shit. This obsession with the serum destroyed my family” he said.

 

Xaver gasped then he looked sad. He perfectly understood what Zeke meant. Zeke’s life and Tybur Industries were closely connected due to a series of painful events related to his father, Grisha Jaeger, one of the two inventors of Ymir serum.

Zeke didn’t have a good relationship with his father and after a fight he started living with his grandparents, while Grisha was left alone into a silent house, with his guilty and regrets.

Zeke’d never told Xaver the reason why Zeke chose to abandon his father but the scientist was convinced that it regarded his late mother, Dina.

Zeke blamed his father for her death and also for being obliged to work for the Tybur Industries.

 

  
“Zeke… Destroying the Tybur Industries won’t bring Dina back.”

 

“I know, but it will prevent the creation of other titans. If we manage to destroy Warrior Unit, maybe we will have more time to elaborate a vaccine. It’s not too late for it”

 

“Zeke ?”

 

“Xaver, we’re risking the prison. The only way out of this is betrayal”

“Zeke…”

 

“You said yourself that you are ashamed of our past, of the actions committed in order to perfection Ymir serum. You said yourself that if there could be a way to escape from this life, you would take it. Don’t forget that if we play our cards well, we will have time to find a cure”

 

“Zeke, I can’t…”

 

“Tom, you’re the smartest man I know. You know for purpose the Warrior Unit has been created for. Millions will die, if we don’t find a way to fix everything”

 

Tom sighed. He knew that regardless his answer Zeke would continue his plan alone, putting himself in danger and Tom couldn’t allow that happen. Zeke had no one that could protect him from the danger of the world, or from himself, because despite his intelligence, feelings always found their way to corrupt the intellect and Zeke had a destructive anger inside.

Anger could be a valuable alley in a war, but it could become the worst enemy of someone when generated hatred and Zeke already had so much hatred in his heart, even though he didn’t show it, but Tom could feel it sometime, in his words, in his gestures, in his eyes.

There was a darkness inside his heart, a darkness Zeke had been fighting against since he found out the truth about himself, about what his father did to him.

Tom sometimes was scared of that anger.

 

“Okay, let’s do it”

 

 


	5. Lost home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The idea of ever entering the tomb never left my thoughts.
> 
> \- H.P. Lovecraft

_UNKNOWN FACILITY, MARLEY 2097 13 SEPTEMBER_

 

Steel blue eyes opened brusquely and the first thing he saw was that shitty four glasses, who almost provoked him an heart attack when he woke up in his medical room and found her face few millimeters from his face, with a needle inside his hand, that she was keeping more like a dagger and she was also giggling.

 

“Good morning grumpy. I’ve never seen someone who holds a grudge even when he sleeps” commented the woman looking at him with her wide, light brown eyes, that in that moment looked like a psychopath.

 

“You… have… one second… to step back… before I stab you… in the eyes with that NEEDLE !”

 

The woman looked at him, winking with a dumb expression and Levi wondered if she’d understood he was serious. He was going to ask if she could speak his language, when suddenly she bursted out laughing, at the point that she had tears in the eyes and put a hand on her stomach. Her laugh was loud and ever creepier than her and for a moment Levi considered the idea that Erwin had sent that psychopath only to kill him. After all she had the face of someone who would experiment on someone while sleeping, well he didn’t want to think or even imagine at that things that psychopath could have done to him while he was sleeping on that bed.

 

“OH MY GOD !! You’re so hilarious, you looked so serious and actually determinate to scare me away, but let me say it… you’re so serious to be hilarious, oh I also did rhyme”

 

“Jesus…” commented Levi “Are you supposed to be my nurse with that mind ?”

 

“Not nurse, doctor. I am a medic bar scientist and inventor in the free time. I know…” said Henry giving a painful smack on Levi’s shoulder “Impressive isn’t it ?”

 

“Unbelievable actually, how could someone crazy like you been admitted somewhere ?”

 

“Because despite my madness I’m actually a genius. So, sunshine, how are you feeling ?”

 

“I was feeling better before you decide to disturb me” answered with Levi with a slightly acid tone.

 

“So you’re better, at least I’m sure that you’re tongue is already able to sharpen everything, sweetie”

 

Levi rolled his eyes and bite his tongue. He didn’t know how to deal with crazy people, above all when they were hard of understanding. He remained in silence, when she conducted all the proper assessment, he wasn’t in the mood for silly conversations after all and also that four eyes was talking for both. She commented everything after any assessment, the beating of his heart, the pallor of his skin, how short he was and then Levi wanted to make her shallow her own glasses.

 

“I can’t wait to find out what’s make you so special. Erwin told me everything, there’s something special to you and I will be the first person to find it out and…”

 

“Contain the enthusiasm, you shitty glasses. I don’t intend to be your guinea pig”

 

“Oh come on, I’m not crazy in that sense” replied Hanji grabbing and wearing disposable gloves and a Vacutainer system.

 

“Whatever sense, I don’t give a fuck. I want to know what it is for”

 

“Blood samples. I want to know what in your blood allowed you do to kill all those titans”

“Couldn’t have been simple adrenaline ?” Asked Levi, aware that his suggestion was pretty stupid.

  
“You don’t look like a stupid, grumpy, so avoid stupid assumptions” said Hanji attaching a tourniquet to his arm “Or are you scared of needles ?”

 

“Shut the fuck up !!” Yelled Levi.

 

Henji fought hard not to start laughing again. That type was so fun to be around and she had the feeling that it was going to be entertaining make fun at his expense. That grumpy shrew needed to laugh and smile more. It was almost time that Erwin allowed someone else to join their little gang. It became boring spending your time with the same people, specially when they elaborated their own tactics to avoid to be annoyed, expect Moblit.

Moblit was the less lucky of all of them since he was her assistant and he had an heart too sweet to deny her anything too.

Speaking of the Devil…

A man with short, smith hair, of average height and build, who was wearing a white coat entered in the room.

 

“Moblit, you arrived, come here to meet our new fellow”exclaimed Hanji almost screaming.

 

“Is necessary to scream this way ?” Asked Moblit with the face of someone who regretted to come there.

 

‘That guy took the words out from my mouth’ Levi thought. He felt the needle penetrating his skin and for a moment he thought about the victims of the Tybur Industries, about the human experimentation and about the titans, the monsters that tormented him in his nightmare. He didn’t think he would ever forget those monsters, those abominations that took his family away from him. He really hoped that four glasses could find some useful informations in blood that could give some explanations about that phenomena. That power that allowed him to kill all those monsters alone and to survive int he end and Levi couldn’t wait to feel like that again, to be able to do the unthinkable, to avenge his family and maybe one day to find his sister again.

Another pat on his shoulder made him jumped.

 

“Oi, what the hell ?” He screamed.

 

“I made you a question but you didn’t answer, you were lost in your thought. I asked you what you want to eat now”

 

“Eat ?”

 

Only now Levi noticed that Hanji exerting pressure on the puncture site and fixing the gauze with a plaster. Levi was so lost in his thought not to even realize that she had just finished it. She would have injected poison and he wouldn’t have even noticed. He really needed to concentrate.

She stood up and came closer to the cart to put in order the examples in the appropriate containers.

 

“You shouldn’t remain fasting after a withdrawal. What do you want ?”

 

“Whatever you pick it will be fine. Where’s Erwin ?”

 

“Erwin is not here. He had an important meeting but he will come back soon. What ? Aren’t we entertaining for you ?”

 

“Major !!” Exclaimed Moblit.

 

“Oh come on, Moblit, don’t be so boring. Bring something the samples to the lab and bring this sweetie. I will take care of him”

 

“It doesn’t sound reassuring from someone who managed to kill her own red fish after three days from the buying” said Moblit opening the door.

 

“Is she actually sane ?” Asked Levi.

 

Moblit looked at him dejected and said “No” then he went away.

 

“Great” he commented passing an hand through his hairs.

 

“Oh don’t worry, I bet we will be friends very soon” said Hanii winking at him

 

“Why ? Have purely professional relationship gone out of fashion ?” Commented him.

 

“Trust me, you will be a friend of my before you even realize”

 

Levi considered it impossible, since he couldn’t see himself with someone who was so different from him, so eccentric and extravagant who surely didn’t go unnoticed. Levi tried his best to past unnoticed in any contest and also didn’t know how to behave with people like her. Well, a deep part of himself was grateful not to be left alone with his thoughts and nightmares anymore. He didn’t want to think about Isabel’s body being smashed or Furlan’s one, who probably was nothing more than ashes at that point.

‘It’s only my fault’ he thought, he shouldn’t have suggested them to split up, because they were strong only when they were together and they were. Furlan and Isabel were the only two people who knew everything about him, who could read him like an open book because they knew that it meant being a stray dog, born with the knees on the ground and an empty stomach.

They understood his pain because it was theirs.

 

“You said you’re a scientist right ?”

 

“Yes” answered Hanji throwing the needle in the container for cutting edges.

 

“What’s your opinion about what’s happening ?”

 

“I don’t know. I’ve read the files sent to us about those creatures and, what those researches has achieved is extraordinary and terrible at the same time. Their discovers changed forever my considerations about human body, but I wonder if it’s possible to find a cure”

 

“Wouldn’t be more practical killing them ?” Asked Levi “Once you’re a monster, you will die a monster”

 

“Most of them didn’t become monsters for choices. Most of the subjects were homeless, orphans, prostitutes, inmates that were kidnapped and injected with the serum against their will, turned into mindless monsters because the Ymir serum doesn’t adapt with everyone.”

 

“So you don’t approve my actions of three nights ago” concluded Levi.

 

“That was another thing entirely” said Hanji “That was self defense, I don’t know how you could kill those titans on your own, but I’m glad you did it, otherwise you would be dead and those monsters free to kill other people”

 

“But you still want to save them”

 

“I don’t know if they have some sort of consciousness, so for the moment I want to believe it and Ialso want to believe that if I was in their position, someone would try to find a way to save me before to cut my nape” 

 

“I don’t think I would regain consciousness after having eaten other people and have chewed and swallowed their organs”

 

“That’s only your opinion.” Said Hanji “I respect it though”

 

“I respect yours too” said Levi “At least someone continues hoping for the best”

 

He envied her, somehow. While everything he could think about related to those monsters were revenge and dead, there were people like Hanji who wanted to try to save them, because they could see through their anger or because they didn’t feel it enough, they didn’t hate enough or simply wanted to use their anger in more productive ways.

Levi already knew how he intended to use his but he looked at the crazy scientist and wondered why she was there, working for someone who needed to hide in the shadow and with a target behind his back. He wondered what were her motives, if she was driven by thirst for knowledge, or some sense of justice. Did she really think those monsters could be saved ? Did she really think someone would find a cure ?

Was those monsters worth to be saved ?

 

….

 

MARLEY, STOHESS 2097…

 

‘What a wonderful sun’ thought Erwin Smith looking outside of one of the windows of Darius Zackly.

Darius Zackly was his former chief. Former because Smith officially quitted from any corps, at least that was the official news. Erwin knew that what was doing was risky, but now he officially knew it was everything worthy. Now he had the proofs, now he knew that his suspicious were partially truth and he still could catch one of the man who was worked at the Recruits Training Center.

Erwin knew that there was something he was missing about that Center, but unfortunately that building had been completely destroyed. Someone had sent him files about the experiments and yet he didn’t know whether he could trust that person or not, who he or she is, if it needed to be considered an enemy or an alley, but he was determinate to find out, just not now, now he’s priority was to stop Magath and his men and then he would take down the corporation.

He was so concentrated on his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door got opened and someone entered until that someone coughed to catch his attention.

Erwin turned around and saw Dot Pixis.

Pixis was a bald man with a structured build, with a distinguished mustache, light skin and notable wrinkles under his eyes, who was wearing his military uniform, that made him looked even more serious and respectable.

Pix was the Territory Commander of Garrison, a military devision charged of protection and order inside Marleyan territories. Pix was the Commander of the Southern Division, the one closest to the coasts.

Erwin couldn’t say he was surprised to see the man there and he wasn’t displeased either. Despite his eccentricity, Pixis was an effective leader, an expert strategist and able to gauge any situation carefully.

 

“Greeting Commander Pixis, I must say it’s a pleasure to see you here” said Erwin formally but without perform the military salute.

 

“Good morning Erwin” said Pixis “When Zackly told me about this meeting, and you would have attended, I couldn’t resist. If you requested this, it means two things, or your researches reveled to be futile or you have something big in your hands”

 

“I do, I promise I won’t waste your time.” Said Erwin looking out of the window.

 

“It’s not about my time I’m worried” said Pixis.

 

Erwin nodded but he didn’t say anything else, instead in the wait, he started observing that office. The office represented perfectly Zackly’s personality. Most of the furnitures were simple, spartans, that indicated Zackly’s militarily personality, because he didn’t want his furnitures to catch the attention of the people, but his certificates, his medals, the photos taken with the most imminent personality of Marley. All things that screamed the grandeur of them man sat at that desk that made any soldier envy and admire him, they made people feared him too.

Something in particular caught his attention, a chessboard positioned on a coffee table with the pieces in perfect order.

He came closer to look at it. He considered chess an overestimated game, always preferring Go instead. Someone would say that there weren’t many differences but, let said it, Go represented more Erwin’s point of view, the way he considered the world or how the world should be.

Chess was a hierarchical game, where the game was all about catching a piece, the King. Go instead was an imperial game, where the sacrifices were required, all the pieces valued the same, that offered both the winner had the same possibilities of winning, even if one of the adversary was objectively stronger than the other.

In Chess victory is obvious, the player made checkmate and that was everything, in Go, victory wasn’t decided until the territories were counted at the end of the game.

Go was more realistic, simpler and more difficult than Chess at the same time.

In the end, the more you played Go, the more you understood the simple concept of that if you gained something somewhere, somewhere else you were going to lose. Another lesson that had been helping him to make better choices in his job somehow.

 

“Is that chessboard so interesting ?” Asked Pixis grabbing his silver flask and drinking.

 

“No, not interesting at all” he simply answered. 

 

Pixis had just put away his flask before the door got opened again and Zackly entered inside his office.

Severe frown, erect posture, glasses perfectly cleaned, military uniform.

Another person in Erwin’s place wouldn’t have felt at ease, with his jeans, his blue shirt and blue jacket but not him.

Before speaking, he locked up the door with his key, so that no one could disturb them.

 

“Sorry for the waiting” he simply said without adding more “What kind of informations you have for us Erwin ?” Asked sitting behind his desk.

 

“I will do better if I show them to you” said Erwin grabbing a pen drive from his pocket and putting it on the desk “Inside you will find everything I’ve found out about Tybur Industries”

 

“Can’t wait to see them. I hope that this time we will finally destroy the Industries”

 

“When I decided to start this mission, I swore that I would do anything in my power to achieve this goals” said Erwin.

 

…

 

MARLEY, STOHESS2095…

 

_“I have waited for this moment for almost five years” commented Zackly._

 

_He was reading the newspaper where it was written the news of the incident happened on Paradise Island, caused by the Tybur Industries. He waskeeping the newspaper with his right hand and a cup with his left hand._

_He still couldn’t believe what he was reading, any word made him believe that Christmas arrived earlier that year. Apparently the Tybur Industries finally committed that big mistake he was waiting it would happen. Ever since Tybur Industries had destroyed and ruined his home, Paradise Island, he hoped to have his revenge, for himself, for his home and for all the inhabitants of Paradise Island that had suffered due to Mr Tybur’s voracity until that day._

_In 2090 all the inhabitants who lived in the Southside of Paradise Island had been obliged to leave their houses, while the inhabitants who lived in the Northside were obliged to stay because suddenly Mr Tybur decided to spread the news that a virus had been spread in that side of the island. What a ‘coincidence’ that in that year, another facility owned by Mr Tybur was built and opened and after that people on the island started disappearing or working for the Industries._

_Zackly moved in the Southside of the island only few months before the news, but his family was still living in the Northside and there was nothing he could do to take it with him. He tried to get in contact with them but they never answered. It was like they were disappeared and slowly other people started disappearing, but no one did anything, no one cared enough. The media insisted to write that the disappeared were due to the virus spread, a virus the Tybur Industries were trying to create a cure for and so the disappearances continued and now the incident. Tybur Industries confirmed that there were no survivors and that Paradise Island was now officially uninhabitable. Erwin. In 2068, Mr Tybur allowed the building of another facility, but no one knew what was happening there. Erwin suspected that in 2090 something went wrong, maybe a failed experiment caused the death of those men and Tybur needed a scapegoat to continue with his researches, but there were no proofs._

 

_“In the end our patience was rewarded” commented Pixis drinking by his flask._

 

_Normally Zackly wouldn’t have been so tolerant with that kind of behavior, not during an official reunion, but he also could recognize a lost call. Pixis was a hard head when it came with his flask and sometimes his subordinates had to hide it or replace the liquor with water._

 

_“They will find a way to get by this time too” commented Erwin “In the eye of the public opinion, this is not an incident, but a failure caused by the inability of the Tybur Industries to find a cure for a virus. All the disappearance and the deaths happened in Paradise Island only confirmed the existence of a virus”_

 

_“I don’t think that what happened is caused by a virus” said Pixis “But without proof we can’t prove it. This tragedywill be considered for an ‘incident’, but no one will ever know that something terrible was happening there”_

 

_“We allowed Mr Tybur to kill all those people” commented Erwin “Our inertia killed them. We should have fought for our people, for our home. Paradise Island was our home”_

 

_“It’s our home and we will take it back” said Zackly “But first, we need to take down the Industries”_

 

_“Of all the three of us, you have the highest ranks, the prestigious and the resources. Due to your successful career you have been honored with a prestigious position in Marley too. I almost got fired back in Paradise Island due to all my conflicts with all my superior in the police force” said Erwin moving pieces at random on the chessboard in front of him._

 

_He was sitting on a couch in front of the chessboard positioned on the coffee table, keeping the distance from the other two men._

_After all they didn’t have much in common, apart from their anger toward Willy Tybur._

_Even before the evacuation of Paradise Island, Erwin had met Zackly and Pixis only few times and only for disciplinary matters, because Erwin was always a troublemaker, the one who talked to much, who had no respect for the authority and who usually went against direct orders during the mission. His cold attitude and stubbornness, his lack of regrets and sometimes his cruelty and sadism toward the criminals. Erwin was willing to do anything in his power to achieve his goals and his superiors not always approved that._

_Marley’s army was divided into three divisions. The Military Police Brigade, the local police, the Garrison, in charged of protecting the borders, and the Warrior Unit, the army. The Warrior Unit was the only one of the three division to which Tybur Industries gave funds, probably because it was the only division to which the Industries gave weapons, recruits and vaccines and it was also possible that some of them infiltrated in foreign country to spy them, and in return the Industries received funds for their researches. It was also the only division where recruits were exclusively accepted according to some criteria no one were allowed to know._

_Entering in the Warrior Unit was impossible and with his curriculum he would never infiltrate in the Military Police Brigade but there was something he could do._

 

_“What are you thinking about Erwin ?” Asked Pixis who already suspected something._

 

_“Marley won’t accept me in any division, my reputation precedes me. Even if I enter in the police, I’ve the sensation that my attitude will… get me fired pretty soon” said Erwin grabbing the king._

 

_“I know that tone. What do you have in mind ?”_

 

_“We had to leave our home because of the Tybur Industries and since 2069, when the warrior unit was founded, Marley has been successful in his conquest operations. Without even realizing, we have all the world against us” said Erwin._

 

_“That is Marley’s problem, not ours” replied Zackly._

 

_“No, it’s ours too. Who do you think the world blame for the spread of the virus on Paradise ? The Paradise inhabitants or Marley ? Why do you think we haven’t been welcomed in any other country than Marley ? Because the entire world sees us as bioterrorists who has infected an entire island and that could still infect the whole world as well because we’re contagious”_

 

_“And do you know all of this because ?” Asked Zackly_

 

_“I have my ways and I also analyze our current situation. We’re prisoners here, that’s the truth. If we want to escape we need to reveal the truth about Marley and there’s only one person among us that can do it, me”_

 

_“How ?” Asked Pixies “What do you hope to achieve alone ?”_

 

_“You have my back, don’t you ?” Asked Erwin position the kind on the chessboard again._

 

_“I do” said Zackly “Enter the police, get fired and then disappear. I will give you all you need” said Zackly._

 

_“If someone one find it out…” started Pixis._

 

_“If someone find it out then it would be my problem alone.” Answered Erwin. “I’m your man. I’m intelligent, cunning, pragmatic and cruel enough to sacrifice everyone in order to archive my goals.Mission takes the precedence over everything else”_

 

_Erwin saw nothing wrong into affirming the truth, that he was a cruel man, willing to sacrifice everything, his own humanity, his own heart, if he still had one, everything to pursue his goals. Back in the police corp, even thought he cared about his colleagues, the mission assigned always had the priority. He entered in the force to protect the people, even at the cost of his own life and when the others weren’t willing to risk their lives, then Erwin saw nothing wrong into putting them in risk himself. Everyone was sacrificial, although he considered any life important and people were free of saying of thinking whatever they wanted about him. Included his superiors._

 

_“You know, Erwin, sometimes I wonder if you’re a man or a killing machine” commented Pixis._

 

_“I’m a man aware that any victory requires sacrifices.”_

 

_“Very well, so you’re going to spy the corporation for us ?” Asked Pixis._

 

_“Yes” answered Erwin “Isn’t this the reason why you have picked me among everyone one ? Didn’t you hope that I will fine an appropriate yet dangerous solution ?”_

 

_There couldn’t be any other reason for them to request his presence at that meeting. He, a heartless killing machine, willing to put everything and everyone at risk. They could have picked everyone, but they knew that, in spite of everything, he was a great soldier and he could be even a better commander, also no one would be able to manipulate a group of people into following him into investigate aboutpharmaceutical Giant._

_He was also pretty rigid when it came with rules and he would never attend a formal meeting with two superiors. He would simply pretend that that was an informal meeting and that he was invited for a tea._

_He wasn’t afraid for his fate, it wouldn’t be the first time he put his own life in danger, he simply confide that the outcome would be favorable._

_…_

 

Two yeas had passed from that day, two years of frustration, anger and discouragement, but in the end all his sacrifices were worthy. He applied for a position in the police force of Marley one week after that conversation, three months late he got fired after he disobeyed a direct order from one of his superiors, putting in risk the life of the man himself. After another month, no one knew anything about him, it was like he simply disappeared from the face of the Earth, exactly how he wanted. He managed to form a small group of people who were willing to follow him, to fight for him and die for him and he actually proved himself to be a great commander.

No he finally had something in his hand and now he could only wait for the permission to proceed with his plan.

 

“Erwin…” began Zackly looking at the screen of his laptop “… Are these… Titans real ?”

 

“Affirmative, I witness their existence and brutality three nights ago, when Lyla Tybur turned into one herself and killed her brother”

 

“Well, do you have proofs of them other than these documents ?” Asked Pixis.

 

“Aren’t they necessary, are they ?” Asked Erwin remaining stoic.

 

“Without a concrete proofs, these documents only demonstrate a pure theoretical research on a serum that can allow people to become stronger. Do you have at least a sample of this serum ?”

 

“Those documents prove that Tybur Industries has been conducting illegal human experimentation on the inhabitants of Paradise Island and even on some Marleyan.” SaidErwin shrugging. 

 

“I hate saying it but if some of us send these documents to someone, they will consider it as a pathetic and imaginative attempt from three people of Paradise to denigrate the reputation of the most important corporation of Marley and Marley itself” said Pixis “Without something more concrete, a proof that the world itself won’t be able to ignore, we are unable to do anything”

 

“But you already know this, so why are you here ?” Asked Zackly to Erwin.

 

It was in that moment that Erwin allowed himself to snicker. His superiors knew he wasn’t naive, that he didn’t actually think that a bunch of senseless words and experiments could actually prove the innocence of Paradise Island’s inhabitants. Without a concrete prove, they had nothing and they could do nothing. They needed to retrieve a sample of the serum, or to catch a shifter and obliged him or her to use their ability. They needed to reveal the world the entire truth, any fact had to be unequivocal, to find proves that leaded to only one culprit, Tybur Industries. He had to find a way to exposed all their dark secrets out of the closet and he had two ideas, one crueler than the other, but again, morality was useless when the entire world was out for his people blood.

 

“Because what you said is right, these documents are something, but not all. Nevertheless, they help us to understand more our enemy, what makes it stronger, what can make it weaker, how we can take advantage of them. These documents are the theory of a plan I’m going topursue”

 

“What do you have in mind ?” Asked Pixis.

 

“According to what I learnt, Shifters, the people who can turn into titans at their own pleasure, are weak, tired and unable to turn into titans after a previous transformations, specially when a shifter is close to its thirteenth year. I don’t know how many, but I’m sure that one shifter is still alive and that Magath is with him”

 

“Why are you fixated on Magath now ? He’s not one of the highest members” replied Zackly.

 

“Because the other targets, Lobov, Gross and Calvi are already dead. Magath is the only one I know was there and who’s still out there”

 

“Why hasn’t he done anything yet ?” Asked Pixis.

 

“For two reasons I guess, the shifter with him is too weak to move and the second is that, maybe, he’s waiting for us to do the first move” said Erwin “I bet that the first thing he will try to do is get in contact with Lago Facility, then he will try to return to Paradise, where he will be save”

 

“How can you be so sure ?” Asked Zackly

 

“Because it’s what I would do in his position, he’s desperate and he will make desperate decision. Desperate decisions always end into tragic outcomes. He has no idea that I saw him running away with that shifter, he doesn’t even know that I’m still alive.”

 

“Do you think you can retrieve a sample of that serum from Lago facility ?” Asked Pixis.

 

“Actually, that wasn’t what I had in mind, let me explain…”

 

 

 

…

 

MARLEY UNKOWN FACILITY… TWO HOURS LATER

 

Erwin was relief that the reunion finished sooner.He was tired, physically and emotionally, even though he couldn’t show it, his role required it and time was against him, so for the moment he couldn’t concede himself some rest. He also feared that the adrenaline inside him would keep him awake anyway.

That was why he was in his office, instead than inside his bedroom, and he was drinkinga cup of coffee. He needed some piece, he needed to organize his ideas before to communicate his intentions to the others. He needed to perfection the plan, he needed to organize his speech, to think about every details, hoping that during his absence, his colleagues had found out something about Magath, maybe his current location or something else.

Almost like someone was reading his mind, someone knocked at his door.

 

“Yes ?” He said drinking his coffee.

 

“May I come in ?” It was Mike.

 

“Come in, Moblit” he said sitting at his desk.

 

His office was simple. There was modern styled desk at the center, with a laptop and documents on it, without any personal items, with three drawers and two chairs on the opposite side.On the right there was white magnetic board where there were hanging photos, connected by red threads and red written next to them.On the other side, there were boxes, with various items in them, items that Erwin hadn’t put in order yet.

Mike entered inside his office. He had his own laptop and he looked very excited about something.

 

“Sorry to disturb you, Erwin, but I need you to see this” he said sitting on one of the chair and putting his laptop on the desk.

 

“What Mike ?” Asked Erwin come closer to the other man.

 

“I was hankering the systems of all the facilities, to know whether someone tried to get in contact with other facilities, someone who wasn’t working in any other facilityand apparently someone got in contact with the facility in Lago.”

 

“I don’t see anything strange, I know the hard politic of the Industries, which prevented scientists from leaving the facilities very rarely”

 

“You also know, that all workers are given an apartment inside the facility or nearby, because they need to be ready in case of emergency, or that is what they say. No one leave the facility without Lord Tybur not knowing. The signal that caught my attention came from one of the facility, an undergoing one that was located near the training center”

 

“The one that was blown up three nights ago ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“Exactly, the signal was weak, but it came from there”

 

“So, there’s a hideout in the woods. Magath is there, why is he still there after three days ?”

 

“Maybe some of his men are hurt” said Mike.

 

“No, there has to be another explanation…”

 

Erwin was sure of it. Despite all the faults Magath could have, he didn’t look like the type of captain who left its ship drowning, a proof was that he didn’t leave the blond boy to his destiny, when the Titans threatened to attack them.

Erwin maybe was underestimating the importance of that blond young man, but Magath could have leave him anyway and escaped, since there was another shifter who was fighting against the War Hammer. Maybe the shifter was hurt, after all they didn’t see her Titan form running away. Magath would never leave a shifter behind and he did hoped that it was a shifter the wounded one, because there could be only another one explanation, which was that Magath was ready to leave the facility and hide somewhere else. Erwin couldn’t let it happen.

 

“They can’t move, this gives us time. Maybe one fo the shifters is wounded, probably they’re trying to gain more time before the dead of all those people could be no longed hidden” said Erwin.

 

 

“Why did he contact Lago facility ? Of all the facilities ?” Wondered Mike.

 

“I can’t think about any reason and I don’t care. If we hurry up we will find a way to capture them before they live their hideout and maybe we will have a chance to explore the facility. Looking for something interesting” said Erwin.

 

“How can we go there ? We would never stand a chance against shifters, if they turn in titans, it would be a suicide” replied Mike.

 

“I’m aware of that. We need to read those documents with more attention. Maybe we will find a way to fix this problem and we don’t have to forget that we have Levi”

 

“I fear you can overestimated his abilities. Yes, he killed all those titans, but those monsters weren’t shifters, were stupid and he only was able to accomplish that much because something triggered inside him, something we don’t know what it is”

 

He couldn’t explain what he felt or think about Levi, but when he saw the raven haired man killing those monsters he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time, hope. He was aware that all of that had to sound crazy, specially because Levi tried to kill him and because he knew that the other didn’t hesitate to make researches about his past, the same moment he was taken there. He was aware that some of them were suspicious about him, but Erwin didn’t care. There was something in that man that he needed and did they.He was also willing to admit that Mike’s doubts towards his lucidity disturbed him.

If there was someone among them capable of thinking clearly. Even in the hardest moment, it was him.

 

“Mike, I understand your worries and, believe me, I’m not planning to do something reckless. Not when I’m so close to put Magath behind the bars. We need them to surrender, to do a false step. To act reckless and I know what to do”

 

“What ?” Asked Mike.

 

“The Devil needs to hide and to fool everyone into believing he does not exist, well I need the world to know he does exist now, before he hide his face behind another mask” said Erwin finishing his coffee.

 

“What are you planning ?”

 

“I’ve a contact that can help up and I trust this person, but before I need to see Levi and talk to him” said Erwin putting a cup on the desk “Keep monitoring Magath’s movement. If another conversation took place between the underground facility and the Lago ones, warn me”

 

He went out from his office and started walking alone the corridor. He went right in the medical wing but there he found no one. For a moment he feared the raven hair escaped, but he reconsidered the idea quickly, since it was difficult finding the exit inside that facility and also, no one entered or exited without him knowing. He went to Hanji’s lab, hoping that she would know where Levi was. Hanji was like him about one aspect, it was very hard hiding something from her and even when it happen, it would never last for too long, she always found a way to discover everyone’s secret.

In fact, when he entered inside the lab, she and her colleagues turned toward him, but most of them lowered their gaze quickly and concentrated on their tasks. Everyone but Hanji.

Erwin came closer to her, completely ignoring the other scientists.

 

“You intimidate them, you know that ?” Asked Hanji when he stopped in front of her.

 

“I don’t understand why”

 

“Neither do I” giggled Hanji “Why are you here anyway ? I don’t think you’re here to help me with research”

“I will probably hinder you. I don’t understand nothing about these stuff. I’m here only because I…”

 

“… You wanted to know where Levi sweetie is. I know. He was tired of doing nothing all day, he wanted to do something so I indicated him the way for the gym”

 

“Isn’t too early for gym ?”

 

“That’s what I thought… before seeing him training with Nanaba. Go watch yourself” she concluded with a wink before returning to her files.

 

Erwin nodded, then he left the laboratory and doing it was a relief. He hated the smell inside that place. He walked toward the gym, opened the door and he found himself stunned.

Nanaba was one of the best fighter inside their team, sometimes she even managed to win a spa against Mike, which was the second best fighter after Erwin but Levi was on another level completely. He was able to dodge any Nanaba’s attack, perfectly able to protect himself. He was agile and despite his small stature, his body was well built, with defined muscles that added at his extraordinary skills, made him an opponent not easy to defeat.

So that was what Hanjiwas talking about before.

He knew that Levi could be a valid member of his team, but now he sincerely believed that he could be more than that. Erwin was convinced that there was even more, that what he knew about Levi was only the tip of the iceberg and he couldn’t wait to learn more.

It was Nanaba the first of the two to notice him near the door.

 

“Good afternoon Commander Erwin, are you here to check if I’m still alive ? Where did you find this one ?” Asked Nanaba who stopped to catch her breath.

 

“You would surprise, can I have a word with you Levi ?” Asked him politely.

 

“Take all your time” said Nanaba going to sit on one of the benches.

 

“Are you here to reproach me ?” Asked Levi.

 

“Not at all. I’m glad for your recover. I didn’t imagine you could fight so well”

 

“Difficult childhood. Psychotic uncles. Reformatory… the list is pretty long. What do you want to talk about ?” He asked.

 

“Let’s sit down first.” He said indicating another bench, away from the one where Nanaba was sitting and drinking a bottle of water.

 

“Where have you been ? And why in the hell you leave me alone with that four eyes freak ?”

 

“Hanji ? Why ? Did she try to open your head to take measurement of your brain too ?” Asked Erwin feigning worry.

 

Levi looked at him worry, then he winked and asked carefully “Tell me you’re joking”

 

“I wish I could, but with Hanji you can never be sure of anything. Anyway, I’m here to update you about recent developments”

 

“Don’t make me wait” commented Levi with sarcasm.

 

Erwin smiled. He should feel disturbed due the other’s insolence, but strangely he wasn’t. He wasn’t sure if he liked Levi or not, but he respected him, he respected his strength, the fact that he’d been through hard times and yet he was still able to resist, to get over everything and to stay strong.

Erwin needed someone who knew the pain, whom had tasted it on the tip of his tongue, who had seen the darkest side of the world and managed to survive.

He needed someone who had seen those mindless monsters and, in the moment of danger, was ready to fight and die, instead of run and live.

He needed a soldier, both in body and soul.

 

“Me and Mike have an idea of the current location of the Warriors, but we need to act quickly. The only problem is that we can’t fight against them, not directly, we won’t stand a chance.”

 

“Because there are shifters with him, am I right ?”

 

Erwin nodded then he continued “There are a lot of things we still don’t know, about them, a lot of things we don’t have, like weapons to use to fight them. It would be an hazard, but time is still against us. So we have to fight them differently”

 

“No punches and kicks this time ah ?” Concluded Levi rolling his eyes.

 

“No, I know someone who can help me with the plan, but I want to know if you have a proposal ofyour own”

 

“Why would you care about my opinion ?” Asked Levi surprised.

 

“Because Mike trust me with any decision, and he’s the only person who could get eaten alive a part from us. You’re the other person, you’re new and…”

“You still think that I don’t completely trust you, so you want to be sure that, whatever decision you take, I won’t oppose you”

 

“Reaching a common agreement is fundamental when you’re part of a team. It’s enough that one member is hesitant and everything starts falling apart. Never hesitate, everyone must to do their parts. Now please, share with me your opinion on the matter”

 

“I think that you’re right. We’re not equipped or trained to deal with titans, not even I, since I don’t know what happen to me that night. I don’t know the origin of that force, consequentially we can’trely on something we don’t control. We need to defeat the Warriors in another way, as you said”

 

Levi sincerely believed in any word he said. They couldn’t rely on nothing, not their current arsenal, informations or on his ‘force’ or whatever it was. Levi tried to emulate the emotional state of that night before, while he was training, but nothing happen. His emotions weren’t strong, or there was something else that was missing. He had no idea how to definite it, but when that force possessed him he felt… complete. Like he finally found his other half. It was ridiculous, he knew but there were different things of that night he still didn’t understand, a lot of things about himself that he’d been ignoring all that time apparently. He knew that his uncle had ‘moments’ when it looked like that a force possessed him but he didn’t think that he shared the same ability. Probably their mother had the it too and so did his sister. Was it the reason why his mother disappeared ? Did someone of the Tybur Industries suspect that ? Was it the reason why during his permanency at the orphanage, a doctor took samples from him and his sister twice every month ? But if he had the ‘ability’, why did they let him go ? Why did they let his sister be adopted ? If she had been actually adopted…

More and more questions started forming in his head and it was causing him an headache.

 

“I want answers, but I won’t find them if they all die, so whatever you want me to do, order me. Don’t ask.”

 

“Are you sure ?”

 

“I promised you my loyalty, so yes, I am.Whatever you want to do, I will follow you, because when I look at you, I see that you, somehow, are seeing something incredible, something that I can’t understand, something that I know you’re going to show me one day”

 

Erwin looked at him, emotionless, than he simply said “Thank you”

 

‘Thank you for everything’ he thought without saying it.

Here they were. Two men who had almost nothing in common, only a goal, a dream, a promise to keep.Both of them had their secrets to hide, both of them had scars on their body and soul and a destination that would procure them more. 

That day, Levi would agree with him, one day he would disagree, Erwin was ready for everything, nut as long as they shared the same goal, it would be okay.

For the first time, after a long time, he felt that something could be alright.

 

"Why are you doing this ?" asked Levi.

 

"Because..." Erwin sighed, then he answered "... I lost my home and I want to take it back, but.. on the other hand..."

 

"On the other hand ?"

 

"Bad things were happening when I had to leave Paradise, now I fear whatever monstrosity awaken on the other side of the ocean. I wonder there's any possibility I can actually come back home... or if I'm leaving the safe haven of ignorance for the terrors I will find"

  
"Aren't all the Eldians escaped or dead ?" commented Levi.

 

"Then tell me, Levi, what's more frightening then going inside a cemetery of living soul ? The other half of the populations was used to improve the serum, they're alive and dead at the same time. That's what worries me the most. How could live and dead coincide so well in a living being ?"

 

 

 

 


	6. The face of abomination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is true, shall be monsters, cut off from all world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.
> 
> \- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

MARLEY 2049

 

_Where was he ? Who did these memories belonged to ?_

_He was looking a seven years old child, who was laying on a bed, without hair, the face full of wrinkles, a respirator, an oximeter tied to the finger and she looked pale and weak. Was she… Lyla Tybur ? Or a seven year old version of the woman. It looked like she was sleeping, or maybe she was just pretending._

_She was into a hospital room, but it was weird, it was completely white. All the furnitures were white and he was the room with her and, he was thirteen year old, blond, short, thinner and dressed up very fancy. He was Willy Tybur. Her father, William Tybur sr. was talking with a doctor outside that room._

_He came closer to the door to hear their conversation better._

 

_“I’m sorry, Lord Tybur…” said the doctor “But the diagnosis confirmed our suspicions, your daughter is affected by progeria.”_

 

_“What do you mean ? What is it ?”_

 

_“Progeria is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder that consists in symptoms that resemble aspects of aging at very early age”_

 

_“What does it mean ? Is my daughter going to age faster than normal people ?”_

 

_“Exactly” confirmed the doctor._

 

_“Is there any cure or treatment ? How could it be possible than there’s no treatment in 2068 ?”_

 

_“Lord Tybur, you must understand that…”_

 

_He couldn’t listen their conversation anymore, because he was coming closer to the little girl on the bed. His vision was blurry, so whoever lived the situation in that moment was crying. He took the hand of the child and some tears fell on it. He kissed it._

 

_“I promise Lyla, I will save you. Your bigger brother’s here” he said caressing his sister’s head._

 

 

 

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND, 13 SEPTEMBER 2097 17:00

 

When he opened his eyes the first thing, he saw were postcards and drawings of the say attached to the ceiling. He didn’t seen the white anymore, fortunately, his bedroom wasn’t white anymore, it was replaced by the beauty of the sea. He had found those postcard wandering around the abandoned houses of Paradise Island’s inhabitants. He found interesting things there, photos, books, clothes, for him and his people and the postcards for him, and nevertheless there was always something that pushed him inside a hospital room, where the white ruled and the air was dense of disinfectant and iodopovidone, a smell that was familiar to him since he was surrounded by surgeons, who opened and closed his body like a closet, who cut his arteries, veins and capillaries like an hairdresser who cut hair, and who pierced each part of the bodies with their needles, as if his body was a target for darts.

He hated them and hated those memories but he knew that once his titan would swallow and accept the War Hammer Titan, his dreams would consist of memories of both Willy and Lyla Tybur, which wasn’t a complete negative thing, yet he didn’t want to see those memories. He didn’t want to see things that made them look so… normal. He wanted to see the monsters inside them, the faces behind their masks, he wanted to know their secrets in order to destroy their Corporation and make their family name disappear from the face of the Earth.

He didn’t want to think about his part anymore, that was another reason why he lived away from the old facility, or what remained of it. He moved into one of the closest abandoned house, he made the place habitable and comfortable. He usually went there to think and to be alone too.

Being surrounded all the time by people who were directly connected with his mind, limited his ability of thinking and pondering about things freely. He knew he could get the other off his mind, but he wanted also be away from them physically. After all there was nothing wrong in wanting piece and quiet.

 

“Ackerman…” he muttered.

 

That was another thing that had been invading his mind since the first time he saw that man. He didn’t know his name, he knew nothing about him and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Who was him ? Why was he at the party ? He was dressed up like a waiter, but he didn’t result in any list of staff members he and his ‘family’ found in their databases. He infiltrated that night in the Mansion, but why ? What was he doing there ? Who was he with ? Where was he now ? Was he alive ? Did Magath kidnap him ?

And why was he worrying so much ?

That man was an ‘Ackerman’ and Ackermans were dangerous people, or at least that was what his father told him.

Ackerman was simply a surname chosen to indicate those people that, not only survived the serum, but also developed antibodies that made him immune to the Ymir serum. Some of them not only had antibodies but they also developed peculiar abilities. He’d never met an Ackerman personally but the reckless side of him hoped to meet that man again one day.

Maybe he was simply looking in the world direction.

There were documents about the Ackerman in the archives, maybe he could do some research, tofind him in the lists of all the subjects who developed the the so called ‘Ackerman power’. As far as he remembered the Ackerman represented the 0,8 % of people who survived the first injection without dying or becoming mindless titans, they were extremely rare and very important to make the serum less aggressive and rise its rate of adaptability to human’s genome. 

Maybe he should start from there, he would look in the archive to see if there was someone connected to him. That man didn’t seem to know what was happening to him, but another thing he knew was that the ‘Ackerman power’ was hereditary and if luck was on his side, he would find someone, a parent or a sibling connected to him.

 

“I must find him… I…”

 

He bite his lips to avoid to pronounce those words.

 

“ _Hey… are you there ? Annie’s still sleeping, Magath can’t move without her”_

 

He was relief that someone distracted him from that ‘Ackerman’, after all there were more important things that required his full attention. After all, he was pretty sure he would have other opportunities to meet him in the future.

 

“Any news from Lago ?”

 

_“No, not yet, but I didn’t contact you for this. I was wandering around and I found something interesting”_

 

“What ?”

 

_“I’m going to send you the files. The orders are to stick together but they’re so concentrated on Annie that no one noticed my absence.”_

 

“Be careful”

 

_“Always am, that’s why you entrusted me with this task”_

 

He sighed. He trusted Armin, he was smart and capable and easily to underestimate. People looked at him and considered him a weak little thing, without self esteem and balls to do something behind Magath’s back.

Behind his superiors’ back.

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAD 2090… 24 HOURS BEFORE THE INCIDENT…

 

_‘Who am I ?’_

_That was what Armin Arlert had thought when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Who was that person ? Was it the same person he was eight months ago, when he was hired as scientist in that facility ? In those eight months he’d seen things he could never imagined, he’d done things that tormented him in his nightmares, things that made his hands trembling when he dared remembering them. Were they worthy ? Was it so important to achieve his goals compared to those lives ?Would his parents be disappointed ? Of course they would, it hurt thinking it, but it was true. He was greedy, naive and cruel in his own way, but when he wore the white coat, that now was hanging in his closet, he felt invincible. Again, his intelligent allowed him to achieve an important position as scientist at only nineteen years old , finally he felt like he could do something important, to become immortal, to win a Nobel, to be able to earn enough money to buy a new home to his grandfather._

_All those things used to be so important eight months ago… so fucking important…_

 

_“Shit” he muttered “Shit… shit… SHIT !!” He screamed punching the glass._

 

_The knuckles began to bleed and some glass fragment fell in the sink, other on the floor and somehow he felt like his identity shattered and fell with them._

_Those eight months made his reality sterile, sour and senseless, but they also taught me very important lessons and it was with that knowledge that he wore his jeans, his blue vest with a white shit underneath and the white coat that used to make him feel so essential in a world where everyone worth nothing._

_He took his tag, his ID wristband and went out his room. Scientists’ dormitory were situated in the East side of the facility. All the laboratories instead where situated in the underground, connected by stairs and only one elevator, the only one that connected all the floors of the building. He went out the room and the door got closed automatically behind him. When he met someone in the corridors, he faked a courtesy smile, sometimes with a nod of his head, sometimes he was so lost in his mind that he completely ignored the world around him. He didn’t know how he arrived safely at the laboratories, where Doctor Langnarwas waiting him and the other members of her research group._

_Doctor Ilse Langnar was thirteen thirty-four years old woman with a curriculum to be envied by anyone. She graduated with honors at the age of fifteen, got her first doctorate in medicine four years later and then another one in biology. It wasn’t surprising if she got her position in that facility. Armin used to feel so honored to work with her, now he simply felt nothing. He looked at all the things that used to interest him, the research, the serum, the knowledge and now he he simply didn’t give a shit about anything._

_The elevator stopped and when the door opened they revealed a waiting room, with white desk on the right and behind it there was a woman, dressed up white tailleur and with blond collected hair a pair of glasses._

 

_He came closer to one of the receptionist and said “Armin Arlert, laboratories”_

 

_The woman, Marianne, nodded, then she put a register of signatures in front of him with a pen. He signed and also wrote the time. Then he put the pen on the register and, without saying anything, he entered into a white electronic door in front of that desk. Inside that door there was another room where there were benches and vending machines and round tables on the right, and on the left there were three doors. One leaded to the drug testing lab the second to the laboratories and the third one to the stairs. He entered in the second room, where he noticed that his colleagues were already sitting at their positions. Some of them were concentrated on the microscope in front of them, other came and went from the low temp testing lab._

_He went straight, ignoring completely the looks he was receiving from his colleagues, then he turned to the left, where he was a desk, with a laptop on it, documents, a microscope and several dirty tools. From that position, it was possible observing what happen inside the low temp tasting lab, which was exactly what Doctor Langnar was doing._

 

_“Good morning Doctor Langnar” he simply said to catch the woman’s attention._

 

_“You’re late. After our discussion, I hoped you would try to make amend, now I understand you need more time” said the woman without even looking at him._

 

_Ilse Langnar was a young woman with short black hair, lightly tanned skin with golden eyes with freckles below each one. She was wearing, a light brown t-shirt with a pair of jeans and sneakers._

 

_“You didn’t have to wait for me” he simply said._

 

_“This is not the way you address your superiors but I blame myself for it. Since you’re late and you clearly have no intention of apologizing for the mess you made yesterday, today you will have to clean these tools…” she said pointing at the tray where there were beakers flasks, test tubes and cylinders and funnels, on her desk “… then I want you to come here as soon as you have finished”_

 

_Armin nodded but when he almost grabbed the tray Doctor Langnar added “But first… There are six dispersal cartridges in the Drug Testing Lab that have to be fill with Ymir serum. I want you to fill them quickly”_

 

_He grabbed the container with test tubes and left the laboratories, then he entered in the first door where there was the Drug Testing Lab, where he knew he would find. When he entered he noticed that no one was there in that moment, probably all the scientists were at the facility room playing with titans or injecting the serum to new subjects provided by Lord Lobov. Good, prefect even. Inside that room there weren’t cameras._

_He noticed the cartridges on one of the counters and then he inserted each one into the Solution Dispenser and fill them with Ymir serum._

_When he finished, he came back to the laboratories and brought the cartridges to Doctor Langnar._

_When she saw them, she narrowed her eyes and looked at him, disturbed._

 

_“Why are you bringing me only five cartridges ?”_

 

_“Sorry, but I couldn’t find the sixth in the room. Maybe someone else used it” he simply explained._

 

_Armin spoke calmly, after all those cartridges didn’t belong to anyone, so every scientific could have taken one, it didn’t have to be necessarily his fault, since he was hiding the sixth inside his trousers, under his coat. Someone else would be trembling in his place, someone else wouldn’t dare, but Armin didn’t do things without being sure to be able to go all the way, without regretting. He definitively wasn’t going to regret what he had in mind to do._

 

_“Shit…” she exclaimed “Well then… go clean these tools”_

 

_Armin nodded then he grabbed the tray._

_’22 hours… 22 hours…’ he thought._

 

_…_

 

_MARLEY COASTS, UNDERGROUND FACILITY 13 SEPTEMBER 2097_

 

‘So many yeas have passed since that day…’ Armin thought, looking at Annie, who was still laying on a bed, unconscious. Her wounds were regenerating slower than before, probably because her body was too weak by now to bear the effort required by a transformation. It was a miracle if she survived a fight with the War Hammer Titan.

Not that he had any doubt, he knew. somehow, or a part of him did, what she was capable of. Her skills, her abilities, her intelligence, just her.

He grabbed one of her hand, for few minutes, before to let it go again. It would be dangerous if something happen when they touched. Sometimes it happen that when two shifters touched, their titans created a contact that allowed them to see the other’s memories. Armin couldn’t let her learn something about him.

No one of those people had to know that he should look almost thirty year older, instead he looked not older than twenty. If any of them concentrated on his eyes, they would see melancholy on them, a tired should in a young body, awareness, anger, shame. A kaleidoscope of colors and feelings that only someone who’d been through the same calvary could understand.

 

“Why didn’t you help her ?” He asked to Reiner.

 

Reiner didn’t look at him, but answered “Because I was too busy hoping to die” 

 

“Sure, then you should simply be eaten by someone who can handle this life better than you” he commented standing up.

 

“Shut up, when you have no idea of what you’re talking about. You will be allowed to talk when you will know the Hell I have”

 

‘Trust me, I know Hell better than you’ he thought, standing up. Magath left few minutes ago with Pieck and Gabi, to find some food inside that sewer hole. Colt and other few soldiers were supervising the entrance, in the end other soldiers and Falco and Pork,were resting, so that they would have the strengths to substitute Colt and the other out there.

Inside that room remained he, Reiner and Annie.

He looked at the laptop on the desk and then something came in his mind. He sat on the chair and he noticed that the laptop was still on. He tapped some buttons, until he found the floor plan of the facility. The facility wasn’t big, probably because no one suspected that someone would assaultedthe Mansion and the Training center and won.

He put a hand on the screen, then his eyes shined bright for a moment, before to come back to their normal blue.

He continued to tap until he found what he was looking for, where all the other facilities were located and the people who worked in there, including their name, professions and personal informations. Again, he put a hand on the screen and his eyes turned gold for a second.

Visual memory was amazing when it could be used in so many useful ways.

 

“What are you doing ?” Asked Reiner to him.

 

Armin looked at him with his peripheral vision. Reiner was still sitting next to Annie. He looked pretty depressed and depressing with his curved posture, his messy hair, the dark circles and the sleeves of his pullover ripped open by pulling cotton threads.

If Armin hadn’t known so many things about the other due to Berthold’s memories, he would have felt pity for him, instead he could feel nothing for him. Armin couldn’t, because the first step to underestimate your enemy or lose focus was to feel empathy for him.

Armin needed to see Reiner as the monster of his nightmares.

 

“I’m bored… and I want to know if something happen out there”

“What could happen? Everyone who attended the party are dead”

  
“Yes, but their families, their friends, their colleagues don’t know. Maybe some of them already went to the police to denounce their disappearance”

 

“They won’t find nothing” commented Reiner.

 

“In these cases, finding nothing is worse then finding something. The first path they will follow will be the Tybur Industries, again.”

 

“Shit…” commented Reiner “It’s not our fault this time”

 

Armin took note of the plural used by Reiner, which meant that he considered himself as an integral part of Tybur Industries and the Warrior Unit.

Armin applied, using his true name, three months ago, enough for him to discover some secrets about the Warrior Unit.

Part of the Warrior Unit was trained and financial supported by the Industries, but actually they were simply under the control of the government. Instead the paramilitary unit could be divided into different units.

There was the Tybur Security Service, assigned with the protection of all the facility or estates owned by Lord Tybur and payed by the same.

Tybur Biohazard Countermeasure Service, assigned with combating escaped titans, even thought this unit didn’t result in any of the official documents. This unit was created in result of the Paradise Incident in 2090.

It was inadvisable killing Titans, because despite the danger they represented, they remained test subjects and sources to discover more and more important informations about them, Ymir serum and their connection with the Nucleus.

Armin found many projects where were explained the when it was founded, what kind of weapons they used, all informations he sent to him.

There was in the end, the Shifter Unit, the one composed by shifters, like Annie, or Reiner, which leader used to be Calvi.

That unit wasn’t owned by government and apparently no one was aware that some recruits were injected with serum, but officially they were simply trained to become soldiers and some of them simply ‘went away and continued their lives somewhere else’. It was the only way they could justify the dead of the recruits after the 13 years.

 

“Our fault or not, government will need to point the finger against someone and Lord Tybur is already dead, so we’re going to pay the consequences”

 

“Haven’t we already payed enough ?” Asked Reiner “To enter in the unit, we had to leave our families, be injected, reduce our lifespan. Isn’t enough ?”

 

Armin shrugged “You should have put this in count when you chose to enter”

 

“I had to” said Reiner “For my mother”

 

“Then your mother should have” said Armin looking at the screen.

 

“Stop speaking like you know everything, you don’t” said Reiner rising his voice.

 

“So much passion for someone who wanted to die three nights ago” commented Armin not at all intimidated.

 

He hoped that Reiner would remain there thought, he finally unlocked an important document regarding the Warrior Unit, one that opened with a symbol, something he remembered to have seen, but not when or where. The truth was the after the injection, some of his memories hadn’t come back yet, other were clear like the crystal, other were simply forgotten, it depended on how much those memories were for him.

That symbol… probably he saw it for mere minutes, probably it was the symbol of a former paramilitary unit of Paradise Island or something like that.

He opened the link but and he was going to ready it but then he heard footsteps nearby. Magath was coming back with Pieck, he didn’t have time. He put a hand on the screen, took a look on Reiner and when he was sure that the blond wasn’t looking at him, he used his powers to sent it to his family. Then he closed the files and opened another page.

When Magath entered, followed by Pieck, had in his hand a plastic bottle of water, instead Pieck was carrying a cart where there were packets of chips, biscuits and canned food.

 

“We haven’t found much” said Pieck to justify the little variety.

 

“What are you doing recruit ?” Asked Magath looking at Armin.

 

“Checking if we’re already in troubles. I want to be sure that no one is investigating on the disappearance of the victims at the party”

 

“No, because I ordered Xavier to tell anyone who asks that Lord Tybur felt ill after the party”

  
“What about the other guests ?” Insisted Armin.

 

“Most of the guests worked for Lord Tybur and Xaver is smart, he would figure it our something”

 

“Not after two incident, or three, if we want to include the one happen in 2070. The entire world is out for out blood already and we continue to offer them reasons to hate us”

 

“What happen in Paradise, wasn’t caused by one of us. According to our files, someone infiltrated the facility and tried to steal one sample of the serum. When our soldiers caught him, he used the serum to escape.”

 

“What about the servants ?” Asked Reiner.

 

What he heard was new. The version he knew and that everyone knew was that a strange illness spread on Paradise, maybe an attempt to destroy Lord Tybur’s reputation or killing him, by spreading a virus in his property and that the culprit was someone from Paradise.

What was that story of the thief ?

Why did they lie ? Someone infiltrated the facility and provoked an incident. It would be so easier saying it, instead of evacuating half of the population and killing the other half completely. He believed that Paradise inhabitants were devils, bioterrorists, who, spread a virus only not to see their island in the hands of Tybur and now he learnt that it was everything a… lie ?

He looked at Pieck and he observed that she was equally confused.

 

“What are all these questions today ?” Asked Magath who was losing his patience.

 

“Sorry” apologized Reiner.

 

He didn’t sound convinced though, there was something strange in Magath, more like his superior was trying to justify himself or someone else.

He looked at Armin and he was surprised by his lack of reactions. How could he remain so calm and composed ? Maybe it was because Armin had beenpart of the recruits for few months, he knew nothing of their lifestyle and yet there was something weird in him. That blond brat only saw Titans for the first time four nights ago, he was behaving like they were normal, like that was ordinary.

There was something weird about him, or maybe it was simply him and his paranoia. Maybe Armin didn’t want to appear weak in front of Magath, maybe he simply wanted to prove himself and everyone that he was capable of handling those kind of problematic situations. Warriors had to prove themselves constantly, but it looked like more he didn’t care at all. Like he didn’t even belong there, like he was more an observant whose life wouldn’t be effected by those events. Reiner didn’t like him, he didn’t like him because he couldn’t understand him. He looked at Pieck, who was observing him and Reiner almost feared of what she could be seeing in his eyes in that moment. Pieck was too observing for her own good, many of their fellows considered her intruding and inopportune because not only she observed everything, but she had the tendency of telling what she thought about everything aloud, embarrassing the people around her in that moment.

He gave her a look ‘stop staring at me’, then he turned around and looked at Annie.

 

“I hope you’re right. I didn’t apply for this only to be put in jail with all of you” said Armin standing up.

 

“Where are you going soldier ?”

 

“Anywhere I can be alone with my mind, excuse me”

 

“When you return, I hope you will change your attitude, this is not the way to address to your superior” reproved him Magath.

 

“Maybe I’ll die soon, formalities mean nothing” said Armin getting out.

 

Reiner waited few minutes, then he said “I don’t trust him. He’s too… something”

 

“Calm ? ? Composed ? Indifferent ?” Suggested Pieck “Yeah, I don’t think that he’s trying to hide his fear, it’s more like he’s not scared at all”

 

“Well, you were in the room with him, Reiner. He did something suspicious ?” Asked Magath.

 

“It’s not what he does that worries me,rather what he doesn’t. He doesn’t ask…”

 

“So he won’t have nothing to say in case he goes in prison” ironized Magath.

 

“Seriously, after you saw titans for the first time in your life, prison should be the least of your worries” continued Reiner.

 

“Not, if someone manages to control his nerves this time. We haven’t talked about what happen three nights ago yet, but we must. Your conduct was inappropriate and you could have killed all of us”

 

“I’m aware of that” replied Reiner.

 

He didn’t need a reminder of what happen three night ago, he knew he’d fucked up, that he had no excuses for it, but he couldn’t change anything either. He simply needed to look at Annie to remember that it was his fault, if she was lying on a bed it was his fault. His… his feat nullified his spirit, it got him on his knees on the ground. It was like Paradise was making him live a nightmare through those titans, painting his life in red again.

He could still hear the Devil’s Trill Sonata… those damn… prelude of death.

 

“Did you know it ? That Mr Tybur was planning of killing himself” clarified Reiner.

 

“No” answered Magath.

 

“Then I think I should prepare myself psychologically to go in prison too” he said standing up, grabbing a bottle of water.

 

“Where are you going ?” Asked Pieck.

 

“I need to be alone with my mind too” he simply answered getting out of the room.

 

He knew that there was no way of getting out from the underground facility without being notice and it would be dangerous, he felt like he was a prisoner inside it though. He felt like he was suffocating. It was like being in Paradise again, surrounded by those walls, that gave him the sensation of being secluded from the rest of the world.

He hated going there for those injections and exams, he hated being treated like a guinea pig and being looked at like he was some sort of grenade ready to explode at any time.

He wasn’t going to explode, it was needed fire inside for it. Reiner didn’t explode, he simply crumbled and turned into dust. No fire or flames, nothing.

He looked at the plastic battle in his hand and he wondered how it would feel like dying by drowning.

 

…

 

‘I can’t believe I’m doing it’.

Xaver sighed, when he used his ID wristband to open the experiment facility. He clicked some buttons on the controller in front of him, then he indicated where he wanted to go and the elevator started lowering. He hated that room, full of pods, with people inside them, people who would be injected with Ymir serum and then killed whether their genome didn’t adapt with the serum. Unfortunately, they weren’t in Paradise Island, which meant that they couldn’t keep more than a specific number of titans inside the facility and most of them were killed quickly.

The only option was to recreate a sort of Paradise Island, with an experiment facility, where titans could be observed, studied and killed easily and a nucleus strong enough to control them, of course not strong as the original, but efficient enough to reproduce Ymir serum. Actually, the last version of the serum was made with the spinal fluid of the surrogate nucleus, because it resulted more adaptable to human’s genome, instead the serum made with the spinal fluid and of the original nucleus was too deadly for any host to support, if not combined with Ackerman antibodies and yet it was extremely rare finding them.

For this reason, it seemed opportune at some point to elaborate a solution. To create another nucleus, which spinal fluid could merge easier with the host.

If the first injection went well, another shifter would be created and the host would be more capable of resisting to an injection made with the spinal fluid from the original nucleus.

When the elevator stopped, where there was an observation platform where it could be possible to observe five titans walking, bumping one against the other.

He left the elevator and walked on the right side of the observation platform, where there was a door illuminated by a red light on it that indicated that the door was closed.

He used his wristband and the light became green, then the door opened.

 

He slowly opened the door and then he asked “May I come in ?”

 

He entered inside a white room, where there was a white dresser and a bed with white sheets and a pillow at which side there was a small pile of books, on the left, and a desk with chair with drawing, colors and puzzles on it. There, was sitting a young boy, almost twenty years old, even though his messy hair, the gray suit full of folds he was wearing and the objects in the room would suggest he was younger than he looked.

 

“Hi dear, how are you ?” He asked gently.

 

A boy, with fairly long, rounded face and sizable, expressive green eyes, with short brown hair, with tan skin looked at him. Xaver smiled slightly, while the boy was studying him with his eyes. Xaver had been taking care of him for five years and he still fatigued to understand him. Not everyone knew about him, only the highest members, including him, Mr Tybur, Miss Tybur and few other people. It was a secret he didn’t even share with Zeke.

Zeke… Xaver wasn’t ready to share that burden with him.

 

“Hello, E2” he said “How do you feel ?”

 

“Good” he muttered, while he turned his face and continued to do what he was doing before Xaver entered in the room.

 

“Excellent, what are you doing ?” He asked.

 

“I’m drawing… a house with people outside” he simply answered.

 

Xaver came closer to him and he actually saw that E2 was indeed drawing, but not an house. What he was drawing was more serious, he was drawing a wall, Wall Maria in Paradise Island, to be more specific. How could it be possible ?

He was trying not to agitate, there could be different explanations for it, but the problem was that E2 shouldn’t concentrated on those imagines, that probably didn’t even belong to him. E2 was created there, he’d never been in Paradise and he’d never put a foot outside that room, but they realized that pretty soon, like the original nucleus, his mind was strictly connected with the shifters’ ones, so he could see their memories but they still didn’t understand whether that happened only in his dreams, or even during the wakefulness.

Xaver wished they could have done more researches on E2, specially after the destruction of the original nucleus.

Tom was curious to know whether E2 could control shifters and other titans’ mind as well, if he possessed the ‘scream’, if he could manipulate others’ mind… if it could be possible starting to elaborate a vaccine from him.

 

“That is not a house and those people outside are…”

 

“…Titans… but titans used to be people, didn’t they ? I’m like them after all”

 

“You’re tall, not so tall”

 

“That’s why you inject me with that red serum at least three times at day” he said.

 

“How are you able to keep the track of time ?”

 

E2 looked at him, more like he was communicating him with his eyes ‘I’m not stupid as you think I am’. Tom smiled, it was like dealing with a teenager, but Tom loved that boy. E2 wasn’t talkative, he had the bad habits of rolling his eyes, of being blunt when he spoke, uncaring whether what he said could be disturbing or offensive. He had no filters and he didn’t hide himself or his feelings, not because he wasn’t capable of it. Xaver was convinced it was more about self consciousness, like E2 knew that, not matter what the other people could understand or know about him, he would always be the one into an advantageous position, and he was right. That was a little bit terrifying.

 

“Nurses love chit chats. I probably know more things about your scientists than you”

 

“That’s grave. They shouldn’t talk about other people to strangers”

 

“Who would I tell ? I’m always locked up here… besides…”

 

“Besides ?”

 

“They talk about people I don’t know, so I lose interest quickly and I stop to listen” he shrugged.

 

“Well, I need to talk to you”

 

“I figured it”

 

“How ?”

 

“You’re here alone, without anybody else and it’s not time for the injection.” He simply replied “Are you here to tell me that you finally have a cure for me ? So that I can come back home ?”

 

Tom sighed. His heart was suffering for that, because he wanted to stop lying, to that boy. He wanted to tell him all the truth, but he suspected that E2 already knew it. That he wasn’t normal, that maybe he would be like the other boys of his age.

In all sincerity, Tom was actually surprised to find out that the nucleus wasn’t a group of particles, a plant maybe, a titan, a real titan not a… boy.

Or maybe he should have expected, after all, the born of a man is the the same of a monster’s. Titans used to be people, now they were monsters and so the people who created them, who permitted three fatalities to happen. It wasn’t fair. For any of them.

 

…

 

_Lago Facilities 2090…_

 

_“Doctor Xaver, please follow me. I’m going to introduce you to someone” said Mr Tybur using his ID wristband to active the elevator._

 

_“Someone ? I thought you wanted to discuss about the nucleus”_

 

_Last night, while Tom was washing his teeth after dinner, he received a message on his cell, where Mr Tybur informed him that he intended to converse him about the nucleus._

_Tom was curious. Until that night, Mr Tybur refused to share informations about the nucleus to members who didn’t work inside the three walls of Paradise Island. It was an insurance in case something could go wrong in other facility. The nucleus was everything for the Industries and for Ymir serum, although they were far from making some other progress on it. The serum made with the spinal fluid of the nucleus was making more victims than else. The few people whom adapted to live less than five or six years, because their body was unable to resist the transformation and all the pain and consequences of them. That was caused because during the transformation and at the end of it, to heal the broken bones, to heal the tissues, wounds and eventually generated missing limbs, it was required an acceleration of cell regenerative process, that pushed cell to exceed the multiplications limits and in the end they died quicker and couldn’t be reproduced._

_In the end, the host’s body died in few years, in the best cases._

_Tom always wanted to work near the nucleus, to finally learn what it actually was._

_His best guess was that the nucleus was some sort of a plant, after all plants were the first organism to perfectly adapt with the serum._

_That was why he arrived at work earlier and he’d already washed his hands twice for the nervous and when Mr Tybur arrived accompanied with his sister, he feared he started sweating._

_The facility was situated under Tybur’s mansion and was possible to access only by entering from the principal gates of the mansion, or from the parking area that was in the backyard._

 

_“Indeed. It’s a delicate conversation and I trust no one more than you to deal with it with the due delicacy. You’re a father, aren’t you “?_

 

_‘I was actually’ thought Xaver, trying to hide his sadness, so he answered “Yes I am, but what domy parenting skills have to do with this meeting ?”_

 

_“I need someone who can behave more like a father than a scientist, for this task” answered Mr Tybur making him sign to enter the elevator when it opened._

 

_Tom entered, followed by Miss Tybur and Willy Tybur. In that moment. Tom took a moment to observe them. Lord Tybur was wearing and elegant suit, his long blond hair were perfectly combed and it was possible to smell an expensive cologne from him. At his side, his sister she was wearinga much more sober black dress, with boots of the same color. She had a very natural make up, and she had cut her raven hair into soft bob that made her looked more mature. She was holding a black folder._

_She wasn’t beautiful like her brother, but she was pretty, although a part of Xaver continued to brood about her supposed progeria._

_There were a lot of voices about the miraculous healing of Lyla Tybur, at the beginning Tom didn’t believe them but after witnessing the existence of Ymir serum, titans and so on, he started to put everything in discussion._

_After all, for what other reason Lord Tybur could have insisted so much on the production of Ymir serum if not to save his dying sister ?_

_Tom didn’t ask more questions, after all, it would be pointless and he had the sensation that he would learn more when he would finally saw the truth with his eyes._

 

_“I apologize for the hurry or this secrecy, but few people know about it, people chosen by me and my sister. Now you’re part of these people, but first I need you to firm something”_

 

_Lyla opened the folder and passed him some papers and a pen “If you firm these, you agree on not revealing what you’re going to learn to anyone, not even one of your subordinate. If you violate the contract, President Tybur and I will proceed with the immediate dismissal.”_

 

_Tom gulped. He wasn’t stupid or naive, he knew what she actually meant when she said ‘dismissal’, but of course she couldn’t write on paper the ‘murder’ word._

_Every subordinate, despite his rank, profession or age, disappeared after being fired and then it was like he or her never existed. They simply disappeared and then a titan that looked like her or him appeared, in the luckiest case._

_He quickly signed all the papers then he handed them to Lyla again._

 

_“I perfectly understand” he simply said._

 

_“Excellent !” Commented Lyla with a smile while she was checking the papers._

 

_“You must understand how much nucleus is important for my Industry”_

 

_“I totally understand. Nothing of all this would exist without that nucleus”_

 

_“Exactly, unfortunately our entire research is strictly connected with the nucleus, but we need to elaborate a way to be more… independent and our researches on Paradise Island may have found a way for doing it”_

 

_“Really ? How ?” Asked Xaver sincerely surprised._

 

_“You will see” simply answered Lord Tybur._

 

_When the elevator stopped, Lord and Miss Tybur went out first, followed by a nervous Xaver._

 

_“Do you remember that, when I requested the building of a facility here, I required to build room on these floor without specifying their use ?” Asked the President._

 

_Xaver nodded, without telling anything. He remembered it and he considered it pretty weird, but as always, he kept any doubt or thought for himself._

 

_“Good, I found a perfect use for them. A dormitory for someone special”_

 

_‘Someone ? A person ?’_

_If Tom was confused before, now he simply had no opinion or idea on the matter. Who was he going to meet ? A researcher maybe ? Someone who finally had elaborated a way to retreat the nucleus ? It would be so amazing, since, as far as he knew, only one nucleus existed and if it got lost, years and years of researches, sacrifices and dead would be wasted.The walked until the arrived in front of a door, where there was a red light illuminated on it. Lord Tybur used her ID to open the door._

_What Xaver saw was… unexpected. The chamber had been turned into a bedroom, for a teenager, the same teenager who was sitting on a bed with a book on his laps, wearing a green suit._

 

_“Good morning, E2. I’m here to introduce you the person I mentioned you yesterday” said Lord Tybur entering in the room first._

 

_The boy looked at them with emerald curious eyes, but he didn’t stand up or say anything. He didn’t come closer. He remained there, on the bed, studying all of them with his eyes, never darling to take his eyes off them. He was a teenager, maybe sixteen or seventeen years old. What was he doing there ?_

_What was he have to do with the nucleus ? Unless he was …_

 

_“Is this boy connected with the nucleus ?” Asked Xaver whispering to Lyla._

 

_“This boy is not connected. He’s the clone of the original nucleus” clarified Lyla for him aloud, not caring if the boy could hear her o not._

 

_“How could this be possible ?”_

 

_“The nucleus is not at plant, or something like that, it’s a boy, born by two parents whom possessed the Ymir serum. Incredible isn’t it ? That a woman was able to carry on her pregnancy despite the serum inside her”_

 

_“The nucleus… a boy ? You mean… like him ? With the same face ?”_

 

_Lyla nodded, smiling, pleased by his intelligence. Tom was far from pleased. How could be possible that the nucleus, the thing that had allowed the creation of Ymir serum and Titans, the reason why many lives had been sacrificed for, was just a boy ? How could a boy alone possessed the power to create titans that he could command at his pleasure ?_

_It was like the world was transforming again in front of him._

_The nucleus had a face, was made in flesh and blood running through his veins. It wasn’t a plant, or something mystical, or magical._

_Over again, life proved him that the worst monstrosity came from humans and humans didn’t need nothing special to create hell on earth, just themselves and their twisted minds, driven by terrific ideals and futile ideals._

_How was the real nucleus doing in that moment ? Did he know that there was someone else with his face ? Where were his parents ? Did he have a family ? Lyla said that the boy was born by two parents, two persons, whom used to be humans. Whose child was taken away to be used as…_

 

_“I can’t enter into detail, but I can tell you that his blood hasn’t rejected Ackerman antibodies, which makes his body perfect for creating a serum less intrusive that can easily adapt with human’s genome” said Lord Tybur sitting next to the boy “Although he was born with the serum, something inside his DNA allowed him to develop a new kind of antibodies that don’t nullify the effects of the serum”_

 

_“How are you feeling E2 ?” He asked caressing the boy’s hair._

 

_“Fine. Who’s him ? He didn’t introduce himself” said the boy looking at Xaver._

 

_Xaver wasn’t feeling at ease in that room, he feared to looked the boy in the eyes, probably for shame. That boy was going to be used like a guinea pig, like the original… not, like the other boy, with the same face, whose name remained a mystery for him. E1 ? That wasn’t a name, merely an etiquette for a merchandise product._

 

_“I’m…Doctor Tom Xaver, from now on I will be… a friend of yours, if you want”_

 

_“Let’s starting as acquaintance” replied the boy blinking “Will you come here with nurse Elisa ?”_

 

_He looked confused, so Lord Tybur explained for him “Elisa Todd is his personal nurse. She already knows everything and don’t worry, she won’t intrude your time together. She will come here four times every day, she will give this tiger an injection then she will leave”_

 

_“Excuse me, President. I still don’t get my role in this”_

 

_“Come with me, Lyla stay here with E2” he ordered his sister standing up._

 

_Lyla nodded, then she sat next to E2 on the bed and they started reading the book he had on his lap. Although Xaver noticed that E2 was still observing him with his emerald eyes, he was looking at him like he was trying to tell him something with his eyes, something Xaver wasn’t able to interpret._

_He felt relief when he went out from that room, there he was feeling like suffocating. He couldn’t stand being close that boy any longer, the guilt was too much to handle at the moment. It was bad already when he suspected that there was something in that world that turned people into mindless monsters, but knowing that that thing was a boy, a human, was worse. They were experimenting on a human being, a boy of that age… Two boy of that age… For almost twenty years. Twenty fucking years they were working with the blood of a boy to create more monsters. Where was the humanity in all of this ? Where was the justice ? How could he not realize that what he was doing was so cruel ?_

_Lord Tybur and he entered in the elevator. Ten minutes later, they found themselves in garden one the back of the Mansion, sitting on a bench, watching the fountain in front to them._

_Tom couldn’t stop watching birds, he always loved their wings and envied them, because they could fly everywhere, explore the world, be free. Free from any chain and they were so lucky, because they could fly close the sun without getting burn, they had no limits but the ones imposed by humans cruelty. He wondered what the E1 would be capable of doing without the chains of the Industries, how high he could fly, how powerful he could become. That would be something interesting to admire and study._

 

_“I know what you’re thinking. That there’s another boy in Paradise, victim of abuses, locked up from the world, used like a guinea pig… but you have to understand that E1…”_

 

_“Does he have a name ?” Interrupted him Xaver grabbing a cigarette’s pack from his pocket and a lighter._

 

_“Eren, we called him Eren. He’s too precious, his blood too precious and his existence must remain a secret to protect at any cost. The problem is, he’s growing up, like any boy, he will become old, eventually and then he will die, that’s why we’re elaborating a way to recreate his perfect DNA”_

 

_‘Eren… what peculiar name’ Tom thought, maybe in the honor of Eren Kruger, the creator of Ymir serum, the man who originally allowed all of that. Tom admired Eren Kruger when he learnt that he was the one who theorize the serum and then turned it into reality. He admired his brilliant world with the serum, read all his researches over and over again and always wished Kruger was still alive to see his creation working._

_Now, Tom was almost relief that Kruger died before to see how his creation was being used. Not for the good, or the medicine, but to kill and torture innocent and turn people into war machines._

 

_“How could he be still alive ? If he’s born with the serum.. how could he…”_

 

_Was he born after a normal pregnancy ? Or through a test tube ? Was he injected with the serum when he was a child ? After his born ? What had they done to him ?_

 

 

_“An unsolved mystery we hope to solve one day”_

 

_“What’s my part in all of this ?”_

 

_“Tom… Eren has been isolated from the world since his birth, the only people he meets are nurses and doctors, no one else. He didn’t learn social skills, growing up this has become a problem. He started killing whoever got too close to him, we have to keep constantly sedated. We don’t want the same thing to happen with E2, he needs someone, a parent, a father.”_

 

_“So that he would remain docile to be used ?”_

 

_“Tom, you’re an intelligent man, I’m sure I don’t have to explain that the biggest discoveries come from a sacrifice. Science used cruel means to prove its theories right and so it will continue to do, it’s important not to remain in the ignorance”_

 

_“But you’re allowing someone else paying the highest price. A boy” said Tom trying to not speak louder._

 

_“Don’t be so hypocrite, Tom. If I hadn’t tell you the truth, you would have move with your research enthusiastically, but this side of yours is another reason why I chose you. You’re kind, sweet, protective over your pupils. E2 needs someone to take care of him. Do you want to be the father figure he needs or not ? This is the last time I ask”_

 

_Tom was tempted to tell him to fuck off, in spite of his title and the fact that Lord Tybur could kill him at any moment. He was too pissed to be scared in that moment. Lord Tybur was leaving him no choice, that blond devilish man knew where to hit to get what he wanted from people. He knew that Tom lost his son, that he was murdered and that caused a scar on his heart.  
Lord Tybur knew he wouldn’t turn down the offer since the begin, because Tom didn’t have the heart of leaving a young boy behind, leaving him unprotected against others’ cruelty, as he did with his son._

_It was the second time in his life that Tom could firmly admit to feel hate for that man, hate for what he did to Eren, if that was the real name of the original nucleus. He hated him for all the lives he sacrificed, for the lies, the tricks only to gain more power._

 

_“I accept the offer”_

 

_…_

 

_“_ E2… I need to tell you that…”

 

“That am I not going home ? Again ? Or that I will never do because I have no home ?” Asked E2 interrupting him.

 

E2 wasn’t angry while speaking, neither that he was asking a question, more like he was stating a fact that he already accepted a long time ago. After all, E2 wasn’t stupid, even thought he’d never had a proper education. In those twelve years spent together, Xaver had taught E2 to write, read, maths, story, how to speak French, Japanese and Spanish over then German. He treated him like a son or something close to it, he tried to give him affection and everything he could give to someone, born with nothing and doom to die into a room surrounded by emptiness and smell of disinfectant. The last thing that Tom wanted from E2 was a sterile life, like Tybur had planned for the original nucleus.

 

“You have home, just not here. This room is not your home, your home is…”

 

“Where is it ?”

 

‘In Paradise Island, with your kind’, it may sound cruel to say or think, but in Marley, E2 would never be happy or free. He would be used, abused, and experimented, drained of his blood until another clone would be created by Eren.

He wondered if Eren was still alive, or if he died back in the incident of Paradise Island. A part of him, hoped that Eren was dead, and free, where no one else could locked him up into a cage. Another part, hoped he was still alive… happier… safer…ready to protect his kingdom from Marley’s army.

He looked at E2 and thought that at that point Lord Tybur was dead and probably all the people who were aware of E2’s existence as well. It was in that moment that a thought started infecting his mind. E2 was safe, at least from Lord Tybur, he could be free, somewhere, Tom could help him losing his tracks. Maybe Zeke was right, Tybur’s dead was the sign all of them were waiting, the sign that it was time for them to change something, to start saving lives instead of killing them. They would find a cure, they would save Paradise and they would find a way to atone their crimes. Tom could start with E2

 

“E2… Eren… I don’t know if… I’ve been a good friend for you until this moment, probably not, but I hoped that you will bring a dear memory of me with you. Once you will get out of here”

 

E2, who was coloring the wall in his sketch, interrupted what he was doing and looking at him, surprising illuminating his eyes for once. Before that moment, Tom’d never succeeded to surprised him, it was like E2 always knew what he was going to say or do, but that was unexpected for both of them.

Tom didn’t have any idea that he would even find the courage to leave the only think closest to the original clone, genetically and physically speaking, go, but he understood that it was the right thing to do. No one had fight for Eren, but he could fight for E2.

 

“Out of here ? How could I ? Do you mean outside this room, in the corridor ?” Asked E2.

 

“No, outside in the world”

 

E2 blinked twice, before he stood up and started walking around the room.

E2 was scared, he looked very scared or worried and Tom was rarely wrong. He could understand the other’s fear. He’d spent his whole life locked up inside that room, with no worry about finding food, or clean clothes, or medicines or the safety of his own being. One thing was to read about the world in the book, another one was to live inside. One thing was survival, another was to live. Could E2 finally learn how to live ? Or was he doom to an eternal fight for survival ?

Could E2 be strong enough ? Could he be brave enough ?

E2 looked at him like a scared puppy and Tom noticed his lips trembling, maybe he was starting to cry, so Tom stood up and hugged him.

 

“You can do it, you deserve to live in the world. It’s a right of yours, because you’re born in this world”

 

“What would I do outside here ? I know why I’m here, because they need my blood, out of here, what would be the significance of my life ?” Asked E2 starting to cry.

 

“Everyone is born for a reason, you will find your path, but not here and even thought you won’t find it, at least you will have your chance. I know you can do it” said Tom caressing his hair.

 

“But… I’m scared…”

 

“It’s okay to be afraid. Fear allowed our kids to survive, the important is to avoid it could destroy your spirit. You’re a strong boy thought and you have a place to go”

 

“Where ?” Asked E2 with hope in his eyes.

 

“Paradise Island, there you will be safe, here you can become strong until you will feel ready to really live inside the world”

 

E2 bite the sleeve of his sweatshirt and with the free hand he started touching his hair. He was nervous, scared and maybe even a little bit confused. Xaver could read the thoughts that were forming inside his mind. Why so sudden ? What was happening out there ? Where would he go ? How could he arrive to Paradise ? Could he trust someone over Tom to lead him ? To protect him ? E2 knew nothing about the world, he knew its cruelty, or at least he was living it, but maybe he wasn’t even aware of it. How could he know that what those people were doing to him, isolating him, using him, locking up inside that room, was cruel and wrong? How could someone recognize the darkness, if he’d never known the light ? How could he escape ? How could he save himself ?

He couldn’t and Tom couldn’t help him. If E2 was determinate to survive, he would have to find a way alone.

 

“E2… Eren.."

“Stop calling me like that. It’s not my name”

“Not even E2. It’s Eren, you don’t belong here. You need to find your home, your purpose in this messy life.”

“Why are you so determinate to let me go ? You’ve never talked about this in five years”

 

“Because things have changed, for the better, for someone, for the worse for others, but this time luck is on your side. I will come back in tomorrow. I will bring you something you will need out there, but then, you have to leave”

 

“Why ? Why so suddenly ? Why am I in danger here ? I want to know”

“Because bad things will happen to the people here, it’s only a matter of time. I don’t want you to be locked up somewhere else, surrounded by people who would treat even worse. I want to leave this place with the hope that you’re safe, somewhere”

 

“You’re hiding a lot of things from me. I accepted it, because I knew that ignorance was the price for a safe permanence here, but now you want me to leave, to confront a world I know nothing about, to stay out there alone and you can’t even tell me why ?”

 

E2 wasn’t stupid or ignorant about the current situation, as those people wanted to believe he was. He knew that his life wasn’t normal, that there was something terrible wrong in being kept inside the same room for all those years, while other people could come and go at their pleasure. He knew that there was something weird, when nurses brought ‘foods’ to him and he ate it, but it changed nothing in him, because he didn’t feel hunger in the first place. He knew that there was something abnormal in him, or why in the hell those people came here fillings papers and papers about him, his hunger, how many hours he slept at night and so on.

There was something, in his blood, that they wanted. They looked at him, waiting, that something could awaken inside him. He knew that they were keeping him there only for that, so what could he leave now ? That strange thing inside him disappeared and now they had no idea of what to do about him ? They wanted to get rid of him, so they hoped he would die quickly as soon as he left that building ?

 

“I’m trying to protect you. Help me to protect you”

 

“I don’t need protection, I need the truth. I have the right to know. You can’t just send me away, what is, I’m not longer useful for you all ? Don’t you want to be my friend anymore ?”

 

“Of course not !! Believe me when I say that this is the first time I’m acting like a real friend for you”

“So you’ve been lying all these years ?” Asked E2 screaming and crossing his arms.

 

“No, but there was someone who was controlling me, now this person is gone and I can finally do something very important for you, such as giving you your freedom”

 

“What if I don’t want it ?” Provoked him E2

 

“Then you will rot here, or somewhere else. I don’t want this for you”

 

“I’m feeling like the Lady of Shalott in this moment” he said.

 

Tom furrowed then he asked “What did you say ?”

 

“I said that I’m feeling like the Lady of Shalott in this moment” he repeated turning around and kicking the wall.

 

‘So I heard right’ Tom thought. E2 mentioned ‘the Lady of Shalott’, a lyrical ballad written by the English poet Alfred Tennyson, that told the story of a young noble woman imprisoned in a tower on a island near Camelot, cursed to be isolated in a tower, could not live in the real world but only see the reality through a mirror. If she dared to look toward Camelot or leave her tower, she would die.

Tom knew for sure that he’d taught something about Arthurian Myth, he read him poems about King Arthur, but he was sure that they’d never read something about the Lady of Shalott together. After all, the Lady wan’t one of the main protagonist and she wasn’t so popular either. How could he know about this ballad ? Maybe one of the nurses mentioned it to him, but why ? It wasn’t like nurses were particularly friendly with him, they couldn’t, it was more efficient being cold, sometimes it was helpful to see E2 more like an experiment than a human being.

 

“How do you know the Lady of Shalott ?”

 

E2 turned around and looked at him with a mockery smile “Can’t you get it ? You know the reason better than I do”

“Eren…”

“You know why I’ve been feeling like I have the entire world inside my head” he said rising hands at the hight of his head to emphasize his words. 

 

“So you read my mind” concluded Tom.

 

“Not only yours, not because I want, not at the beginning. It used to be more like a yawn or a sneeze, it just happened and I couldn’t control so I felt like the world was screaming inside my mind and I forced myself to control it”

 

“Why are you telling me this now ?” Asked Tom.

 

“Apparently this is the day of the confessions. Are you angry with me ? These people wanted something and I felt like I would be saved until they didn’t have it. I trust you Tom, I know I can but I had to be wary because the others weren’t like you”

 

Tom nodded. He was aware of that too, but he was surprised nonetheless. He was surprised because E2 relieved to be smarter than he thought. E2 realized that he was into a peculiar situation, that he needed some tricks up in his sleeves to survive, that he would do better if he kept secrets about his ability, or abilities, if he had more than one. Tom didn’t know, he didn’t know if E2 would confirm or not. At least he said he trust him, he wanted to believe in him, he considered him a friend and Tom was sincerely happy for it.

E2 was secretly content to have surprised Tom. That man was convinced to know everything, well he didn’t. E2 learnt the values of secrets very soon, in his life. He knew the important of self-preservation and he was prone to manipulative behavior, something he learnt by those characters in the novels that Tom read to him.

A part from this, he truly felt like the Lady of Shalott, cursed not to look toward Camelot, doomed to observe the reality inside a mirror, too scared to leave the tower where she lived because she knew she would die. He feared that once he would leave that door, once he would stop reading about the world in his book, he would die, without having lived. He preferred to see a fragment of reality instead of letting the entire world destroy him.

Could he survive ? Was he stronger than the Lady of Shalott ? Or was he cursed as well ? Doomed to die, slowly, singing a mourning sing, alone.

 

“You’re not the lad of Shalott, you won’t die if you get out of here, if you start living out there, in the world where you belong, where you can find your path”

“You don’t know. How will I be able to defend myself ? What if someone kidnap me again ?”

“You can’t say it.You’re advantaged, you have abilities that no one have. Use them, learn how to control them. You have to. I’m sorry that I haven’t prepared you for this, but believe me when I say that things were different three days ago”

“I don’t want to leave, I prefer to rot in here. You can’t tell me to run away in a world I know nothing about”

 

“Of course I can. Eren this place will be closed soon, you can’t stay here. You have to leave now before it’s too late and that’s final” said Tom standing up.

 

“You can’t make me leave, You know I will die soon !!” Screamed E2 pointing a finger at him “You want me to die and all the things I know about his facility with me”

 

E2 knew that there weren’t Tom’s intention, he could see it in his eyes, thought the other’s glasses, that Tom didn’t want to hurt him and he didn’t want him dead, for some reason that weird man really wanted him to learn how to live in the real world.

  
“I will come back tomorrow morning. I will bring you everything you need to leave this room. You can’t stay here”

 

Then Tom left the room, without giving him the time to replay. E2, not, Eren sighed and sat on his bed.

He started reciting the ballad.

 

“… She knows not what curse may be, and so she weaveth steadily, a little other care hath she, the Lady of Shalott… All in the blue unclouded weather… Thick-jewell’d shone the saddle-leather, the helmet and the helmet-feather… Burn’d like one burning flame together, as he rode down to Camelot…”

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 13 SEPTEMBER 2097

 

“… Out flew the web and floated wide… the mirror crack’d from side to side; ‘The curse is come upon me’ cried the Lady of Shalott…”

 

The brunette boy was reciting the ballad of Lady of Shalott, while he was looking the sea in front of him. Lady of Shalott died, singing on a little boat on a river and he wondered if sea would be his grave. He hoped he will. After all, all humans born in water. It was fair that what allowed them to born, was the thing to kill them too.

He thought there couldn’t be sweeter death than drawing. He was tempted to try, after all he couldn’t swim, or he’d never tried. Titans couldn’t swim, not even shifters, their mass made them sink. He knew that thanks to his abilities, he could learn to do things, such as read, write or swim, through the muscular memory of the other shifters. Sometimes he succeeded at the first try, other times he needed to exercise on his own a little bit.

Sea represented everything he loved, everything he’d wished to have since the first time he saw a picture of it. Freedom, infinitive choices, hope, mystery, adventure and it possessed so many shades of color to obscure any diamond on earth.

He wanted to be a fish, any kind of fish, only to swim freely in the ocean and explore it entirely.

He didn’t want to see only a reflection of reality, he was sick of its shadow, he was tired of living, of learning through other people’ minds and memories, those didn’t belong to him, those weren’t his life. He was tired of hearing everyone’ voices in his head but his, his head belonged to him. His body belonged to him.

Yet sea was cause of melancholy for him, because it constantly reminded him that there was a world of enemies on the other side.

That was one of the reason why he’d waited almost ten year to set himself and his kind free of their chains. He thought over and over again if fight was the right decision, if it wasn’t better letting himself to die and let his kind die with him, but then he thought that if he was born into that world, it had to mean something. No one could born only to live isolated, surrounded by people who didn’t give a shit about him.

He wondered if someone else could understand him.

He wonder if Ackerman had ever felt something like that…

 

….

 

UNKNOWN FACILITY MARLEY 2097

 

“Out flew… the web and floated… wide… the mirror crack’d from side to side…”

 

Levi found himself murmuring those words without knowing why. Fortunately, he was alone in the gym, so that no one was around to see him talking by himself. It would be too weird to explain and Levi was ready to bet that most of people already thought he was crazy, or maybe they were used to eccentric personality. He didn’t consider himself creepier than Hanji, for example. He couldn’t remember to have read those words anywhere. He wasn’t much of a reader, in his life he couldn’t afford books and surely he didn’t spend money on his education when his stomach required food.

Those words surely weren’t part of a song, it looked more like a poem, but why his mouth was reciting those words, he couldn’t understand. It felt like his mind had connected with someone else’ ones for a moment.

 

“Or maybe I’m simply getting crazy”

 

…

 

STOHESS

 

“So… all the guests at the party are now dead ? Do you have any concrete proof ?”

 

A male voice was whispering in the men’s bathroom, to be sure that no one could overhear his conversation. He’d been waited for a call for weeks, after all he was the one who informed the other about the intention of Lord Tybur’s party and now he regretted not to be there there nights ago, to assist and personally document the events. Lord Tybur’s dead and the monsters. Someone else, would have thought that the other was trying to deceive him, but he was sure that there had to be something true in that story. After all, no one’d heard a thing about neither one of the guests or Lord Tybur, or someone of his family. Something happen during the party, something terrible, something that he had the opportunity to bring the true to the world’s light. He needed to prepare his stuff, because tomorrow, if luck was still on his side, he would be responsible for the fallen of the greatest Emperor pharmaceutical of Marley and all the evil it generated with him.

 

“I need proofs. I will go there in person… Don’t worry… are the risks of the trade.”

 

Risks he was more than willing to make, since he’d never been so sure to be able to avenge his lost homeland. Eldians had lived in inertia for far too long.

He didn’t want to die and until that moment, he’d steadily avoided any situation where he could risk his life, but now that he was so close to expose Tybur and destroy his legacy, he was ready. He had nothing to lose anymore. His family, his friends, his fiancee… everything was gone after the incident in 2090.

 

“I will be here. Don’t worry, I will keep you constantly update”

 

‘It’s time to get back to work’


	7. Lady of Shalott part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ... In her web she still delights   
> To weave the mirror's magic sights,   
> For often thro' the silent nights   
> A funeral, with plumes and lights   
>  And music, came from Camelot:   
> Or when the moon was overhead   
> Came two young lovers lately wed;   
> 'I am half sick of shadows,' said   
> The Lady of Shalott  
>  \- The Lady of Shalott, A. Lord Tennyson

CHAPTER 7

 

 

LAGO FACILITY 14 SEPTEMEBER 2097 5:30

 

E2 was sleeping in his bed, holding a teddy against his chest. He liked sleeping with something against his chest, it made him feel less lonely in that room. A part from the voices in his head, but differently from the teddy, they weren’t welcomed. He hated the feelings of having the entire world inside his head, to be able to hear everyone’s thoughts but his own.

It was painful…

 

“ _You have to get used to it, you will learn to control it”_

 

That was what a voice in particular, the strongest of them all, kept telling to him. To be patient. To be strong. That he needed to learn how to control his telepathy, instead of repressing it. That once he was able control it, everything would be able to achieve great things. Control others’ minds, manipulate them, use them, know their deepest fears and darkest secrets.

E2 wasn’t sure he really wanted to know those things, specially about people he barely knew their names or faces. He wouldn’t have evenknow what kind of face he had if it wasn’t for his telepathy, because there weren’t mirrors inside that room. He couldn’t even choice his haircut, because a woman came there once every month to cut his hair. 

 

_“Long hair are uncomfortable”_

 

“How could I know ?” Asked E2 “Can I see you ?”

 

_“Close your eyes”_

 

E2 obeyed. He closed his eyes and waited. He knew that he would see him soon. Dreams were his only way to escape from that room, to evade from that prison, to meet his one and only friend, the only real friend he had. The only one willing to give him answers about his abilities. E2 was convinced that without him, he’d gone crazy right now. There were times when he was tempted to share his secret with Tom, but his friend always warned him about trusting people who’d locked him up inside that room. Sometimes E2 was scared of his friend, sometimes he had the sensation that he was been controlled by him, but until that moment he hadn’t nothing to worry about. He had followed the other’s instructions and if things went well, he would finally be able to get out of there and be free.

 

…

 

_When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a desert, sitting on warm and soft sand, he could feel it under his hands, between his fingers. There was a light wind, that gave him a sense of calm and over him there was a beautiful starry sky. A sky he wished he could see personally someday, instead of a white ceiling._

_He stood up, ignoring the sand on his pajama pants, enjoying the sensation of the sand under his feet. He wondered if the real sand was exactly like that._

_He walked for several minutes, before he found someone sitting on the sand. Someone who was giving him his back, with long dark hair who was wearing a black jacket, or something like that._

 

_“Hi…” he whispered, convinced that the other had heard him anyway “I’m… I’m here”_

 

_“I knew. I heard you coming. Come here, sit with me” said the other boy without looking at him._

 

_He obeyed, he came closer to the other and sat next to him, bringing his knees to his chest, not daring to look at the other._

 

_“It’s so calm here. I wish the world was exactly like this, peaceful” commented the other._

 

_E2 didn’t say anything, after all he knew nothing of the world, how could he say he wanted it to be different ?_

 

_“Trust me, the world is not a fairytale. You will realize very soon, once you will be out of your prison”  
_

_“You’ve always known this moment would arrive, how ?” Asked E2_

 

_“Because this is part of the plan. You and me… together. I need you, you’re part of me”_

 

_Somehow E2 believed in those words every time. There was something between them that he didn’t understand. They mind were connected, but it was more than simple telepathy, somehow it felt more like their minds used to be one, before to split in two. E2 wouldn’t be surprise, after all they shared the same face, even thought the other was older than him. A young man._

 

_“Do you plan to tell me why we look so similar ?” Asked E2_

 

_“One day. I can tell you, we share the same name”_

 

_“Eren ?” Asked E2 turning toward the young man._

 

_Turquoise eyes looked at him, bright, like the stars among them. The other was smiling, with proud and maybe with a little bit of malice. He knew that the other ‘Eren’ was his 21 older version of himself, so he wondered if he could smile in the same way. With the same mystery, like he was trying to say ‘I knew you could figure it out’._

_The truth was that while the other Eren could see the entire puzzle, E2 was still trying to put the pieces at the right places to complete the picture._

 

_“Eren, Eren Kruger. That’s my name.”_

 

_‘Eren Kruger, like the inventor of Ymir serum’ E2 thought. He had tried several times to find some memories of the man inside Tom’s hand, but Tom’d never met Kruger personally. He only knew died because of an incident. A current tragedy in the story of Tybur Industries. No one knew what happen back then and Mr Tybur didn’t share many informations with his subordinates, because he was paranoid and he feared that they could say something at the wrong people._

_E2 wanted to know more about that man, he wanted to know if he and the other Eren were… if they were…_

 

_“What’s mine ?” He asked, hoping to receive an answer._

 

_“Didn’t Tom tell you ?”_

 

_“Tom say nothing useful. I read his mind, he didn’t even know the nucleus was a person, also I can’t read his mind always. There’s something that stops me sometimes”_

 

_“Your lack of control ?” Asked Eren._

 

_“No something else”_

 

_E2 was aware that the other hoped he would elaborate deeper, but he really couldn’t. He didn’t know what to say, simply sometimes there was something inside Tom that prevented him from reading and invading his mind. It happened vey rarely, but it happened. He knew that Tom was working on a vaccine, he knew that Tom didn’t share Marley’s ideology. That he was firmly against a world dominated by the violence and fear, that he didn’t want titans to be used to submit other’s populations to Marley. He wanted a free world. He knew secrets about that man that could have made him killed if Lord Tybur was still alive. Tom didn’t feel the need to protect his mind from him, after all Tom had only suspected that E2 could have some secret ability. The only possibility was that Tom was creating something to make himself immune to his powers, or maybe to titans’ powers in general. There was a cure, maybe a prototype, something like that. He refused to believe that Tom’s mind was strong enough to be able to resist him, or that he wasn’t strong enough to penetrate his mind at his pleasure._

 

_“Pity. Mine name is yours, but I suggest you to change yours. Keep Eren, change your last name”_

 

_“Do you fear someone will connect me with you ?” He asked._

 

_“No, I’m a ghost for this world, most of the people who were aware of my existence are all dead”_

 

_E2 could have swore to have heard some bitter in the other’s tone, another thing they had in common. They could die anytime and no one would give a shit. No one would cry for them. No one would bring flowers to their grave, if they were lucky enough to have one._

 

_Do you know what he’s planning to do ?”_

 

_“He wants me to run, he talked with Magath and with another young man, Zeke. They wanted to cause an incident in Lago.”_

 

_“Why should they ?”_

_  
“I suspect Tom is working on a cure, to destroy Ymir’s serum”_

 

_“Your suspects are partially true. I notice that not all member of the warriors unit could be affected by the serum, some of them have a vaccine that protect them, yet titans could still attack them”  
_

_E2 rolled his eyes. So the other already knew that there was a vaccine, wonderful. Then what was his role in all that charade ? Why did Eren make him spent so much time locked up in that room if he didn’t need his help ? Eren ordered him not to do anything reckless, to be patient, to wait, because he needed to get informations from Tom’s head and E2 obeyed, always. Whatever the other ordered him to do, he always obeyed, without making any question or complain, but now he was getting tired._

 

_“Don’t be angry with me.”  
_

_“You know things and you don’t share with me. I’m feeling like you’re wasting my time” he admitted._

 

_“I will never. You’re part of me. Our similarity proves it”_

 

_“But I don’t feel like your peer. I feel more like a puppet.”_

 

_“You’re not.”_

 

_“Prove it. Trust me. We’re one and the same, but we’re still different, I…”_

 

_“There’s no I, only WE. Me and you, us.”_

 

_E2 chose to believe in those words, again. Soon, everything would change anyway. He was going to be free and see the world, as he deserved. He was glad to have seen the other, he needed him, he needed to see his other half, he needed to see that someone was waiting for him outside his white room. That there would be someone who would hold his hand and lead him, protect him. Eren was that person, the only person he felt he could trust. The person who was waiting for him out there, to build a new life together, but he also needed to be sure that that person considered him his peer, someone he could rely on too._

 

_“Will we be together ?”_

 

_“Soon. Now you have to wake up” said Eren kissing him on the forehead._

 

_…_

 

E2 opened his eyes and in the place of the starry sky, he saw an anonymous white ceiling. He hated it. It was so boring. He rolled his eyes, why did he have to wake up ? He wanted to stay there, in the desert, where the silence reigned, he could feel the sand, the wind on his face and meet with his friend.

There, in that room, he was completely alone and even thought there was silent, he could hear the voices again and he hated it.

How could he tell someone there that he heard voices ? They would think he was crazy and Eren told him that it was forbidden. Of course he obeyed. He sat on the bed and grabbed his head between his hands. He closed his eyesand forced himself to remember the stars and sky, to give himself the illusion that he was still there in the desert.

Then he heard footsteps nearby. He would have recognize that walk everywhere. Tom was coming. He heard the door got opened and then the man entered. He didn’t wear his white coat, but a black coat, with a pair of old jeans and sneakers, and he was keeping a bag in his right hand. His hair were messy, his glass a little but dirty, he had deep circles around his eyes and his forehead and face beaded with sweat. He had run, to arrive there. He was also scared, he could hear his heart beating fast.

 

“Good morning Eren, I’m sorry I woke you up, but we need to hurry”

 

“Are we leaving ?” Asked E2 standing up and grabbing his sweatshirt on the chair.

 

“Exactly, I guess you don’t have a coat, but your body temperature will warm you enough” said Tom putting his bag on the bed.

 

E2 wore the only pair of shoes he had, they used to be white, but they were dirty and old. He didn’t even know why they gave them to him, since he couldn’t leave the room.

When he finished to fasten his shoes he stood up, grabbed the bag and put it on his shoulders.

Tom grabbed his wrist and lead him out of the room. The light outside his room was on and E2 blink twice before to get used to the light. He still couldn’t believe that he was going to see the world outside that building. He heard a growl under him and he saw that he could see some titans there. All of them were looked up at him immediately, like they recognized him as their leader. Their mindless expression suddenly were curious, vigilant and attentive, ready to obey to his commands.

They were all 3m hight, probably because they were easy to kill, even though they could move incredibly fast when they wanted. Probably after the incident on Paradise, they wanted to be more cautious with the titans that they kept in their facilities.

He dared to cross their eyes and he was sure, they were looking at him, not like he was food, but like he was their king. They were completely ignoring Tom.

 

“It’s strange seeing them for the first time, isn’t it ?” Asked Tom that was calling the elevator.

  
“Yes” said E2.

 

Actually he didn’t know what he was feeling. Those titans were something to him, he didn’t know how to explain, but he felt them like a part of him. Like they belonged to him, like he owned their destiny. He wanted to be closer to them, to touch them, to know who they used to be, who they would be willing to become for him, for the cause, for their own kind. He wanted to set them free, he wanted them to…

 

“Eren, we need to go” said Tom indicating him the elevator.

 

Reluctant, he took his eyes off the titans and entered inside the elevator. He should ask Tom where they were going, what he was doing. How he could be so sure that no one would see them, if he had thought about the security system. He had no idea how to get out of there without Tom.

 

“Isn’t a security system here ?” He asked.

 

“Yes, but I have my ways to elude it. You don’t have to worry”

“You haven’t planned this for more than half a day. You’re acting reckless” he said.

 

“I work here. I know the faults of this place and the people here. You don’t have to worry about anything. The people who knows about your existence aren’t in the facility at this time, they only come when they have to do your injections and then leave the facility”

“So they don’t stay around longer. Isn’t suspicious that stranger people come and go from this facility ?”

 

“It would be more suspicious if there are people who stay here doing nothing but coming and going from a room where no one else could access. Instead, it’s not strange seeing people come here to retrieve samples and documents to deliver personally to other facilities”

 

“So it was true that Tybur was paranoid”

 

“Why are you deducing this ?” Asked Tom looking at him confused.

 

“I don’t want to put myself on a pedestal, but if he has taken so many precautions about me, then it means that whatever’s running through my veins is important, which means that he probably has prohibited the few people aware of my existence to send email, easily to track, about me and my datas. Surely I don’t imagine him giving his approval to send samples of my blood from facility to facility with a courier”

 

Tom was more and more impressed by the other’s deductive skills. E2 was revealing to be more cunning than they had anticipated. He was sad that their ways were going to part, but it was for the better for both of them. Tom was convinced he would never find a way to create a cure in E2’s blood, that blood was deeply contaminated with the madness and illness that he was trying to hard to fight. Maybe he was wrong, but he didn’t think that the key for the cure could be found in the serum. He needed to look somewhere else, maybe in the Ackermans’ blood.

Not in E2.

 

“Well, no one knows about you, but me. If someone catches us, we will lie. I will lie” said Tom shrugging.

 

“Are you a good liar ?” Asked E2, with mere curiosity.

 

Tom didn’t answer. The elevator stopped. Tom pressed a button then he pushed E2 out of the elevator. He made him sign to follow him and E2 obeyed. He was following Tom thought a long corridor, with with white pavement and the walls, no windows. There were doors, but it was difficult distinguish them in all that white, also the corridor was dimly lit, nor that it was a problem for E2. His eyes could see in the dark, but it was a problem for his sense of orientation, those doors looked all the same. How could people orient themselves ?

Tom knew that in that corridor there were cameras, but he didn’t worry about it. He had taken care of the security officers in the monitoring room. He had ways when it came to drug people without leaving any tracks, specially when he knew people who had been stealing medicines.

Zeke always warned him about the risks of blackmailing. If Lord Tybur had found out that he was covering others’ stealing, Tom would have been killed with them. Again, Tom had his ways to obtain favor from people. He had to, if he wanted to have his back covered.

They arrived at the end of the corridor where there was a door that could be unlocked only with Tom’s ID wristband.

 

“We can’t leave the building leaving the entrance. I don’t know who we could encounter there, we we have to be careful”

 

The door got opened revealing another elevator. Tom entered and E2 obeyed. He was tired of those things and to be surrounded by walls. When would he finally see the sky ?

 

“So, how do you plan to leave the building ?”

 

“It’s not original, but we will have to get out from the parking area”

 

“Why not original ?”

 

“Because… well, you will understand once you start watching tv”

 

E2 wasn’t sure to understand, so he said nothing. He had no idea of what was a parking area or why a tv could be helpful to make him understand why getting out from a parking area wasn’t original but he guessed he would once he would have a tv.

 

“Why do we have to leave from there ?”

“Because the parking area is rarely used, since most of the scientist and staff members lived inside his building and rarely leave their office or laboratory to come back home. It’s something only a scientist can understand”

“I guess so. I would never locked up myself somewhere again, for nothing.”

 

“I knew you would say something like this, not that I can blame you”

“I can’t understand why someone can choose freely to lock himself inside a building, how someone can build his own cage”

 

“As I said, it’s something only a stakhanovite can understand”

 

The elevator stopped and when they got out, they arrived at the first floor of the main building. The structure was interesting, in E2’s opinion. It looked a lot like one of those castles drawn in the novels. The architecture was elaborated, elegant and classy, but not tawdry. The parquet was very expensive. From the smell, he could say that it was cherry tree. Behind him there were two stairs that lead upstairs in different directions. There were antique vases with beautiful violet flowers in front of the chieftains. The walls were entirely covered by pictures and portrays. E2 didn’t feel at ease with all those eyes on him, even thought he knew they weren’t real.

 

“Here, we need to be careful. Try to look natural. Usually there’s no one here at his hour. The reception is closed, there are no visitors and the scientists are locked up inside their labs. But you can always find someone who passes from here”

 

“To go where ?”

 

“There are other labs, where its produced the legal merchandise, where are conducted legal researches and legal experiments. All the legal things are produced under the sunlight”

 

“Why bother ?” Asked E2

 

“Because research requires money”

 

E2 nodded. The more Tom talked, the easier he could elaborate an opinion about the Industries and obtain information about that Giant.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the arrival of two guards, who were coming right toward them. E2 followed Tom’s advice and remained calm. Those two men were tall, with broad shoulders, even thought their faces weren’t particular intelligent.

“Tom !” Exclaimed one of them “ How are you doing ? Who’s the one with you?”

 

“He’s my new assistant. He’s just arrived” Tom answered.

 

“He didn’t have an ID” noticed one of the two men.

“I don’t think his outfit is appropriate for someone who’s just applied for a scientist’s position” said the other.

 

“I said he’s just arrived, I presume” said Tom.

 

“He’s young, how old are you ?” Asked the other.

 

E2 rolled his eyes, annoyed. Those two were making them wasting time. He was trying to stay calm, but he didn’t like those two, he didn’t put it up with their smell of sweat and poor aftershave and the way they were looking at him. He didn’t want to use his ability, he didn’t know he could control them, specially in a place full of cameras. He looked at them and he saw their guns. He knew the bullets wouldn’t hurt him, but it wasn’t the same for Tom, and he needed him to get out of there.

It was then that he had an idea.

 

“Doctor Xavier was thirteen years old when he got his first degree in chemistry. What’s the deal ?” He asked looking the guard in the eyes.

 

E2 observed the two men. One of them had pale skin, with freckles, gingers hairs, dark eyes and strong featured that harden his facial expression. On his uniform, at the left side, was sewn a name tag. G. Coulson. The other one instead had dark skin, dark eyes, full lips and gentle features. E2 read that his name was C. Brown.

Anyone in his place’d been scared in his place, but not E2. Those two men were looking at him like he was a piece of trash, only because he wasn’t dressed like a scientist, with a new pair of jeans, elegant pair of shoes or one of those name tags were it was written a name and not something that sounded more like sneeze. He hated the way they were looking at him.

Tom was going to intervene when his cellphone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but it caught the attention of the two men in front of him.

 

“Don’t you answer Doctor Xavier ?” Asked Brown.

 

Tom nodded. He grabbed his phone and without even checking who was calling him, answered.

 

“Hello Dr Yeager”

 

There weren’t formalities between him and Zeke anymore, but he needed to look professional in front of the other people.

 

_“Dr Yeager ? You will tell me later. I’m waiting here in the lab and you’re late.”_

 

“I know but I…”

 

The two guards were looking at him, noticing that Tom was sweating and the hand that was holding the phone started trembling.

 

_“Tom ? Are you okay ?”_ Asked Zeke on the other side of the line. 

 

E2 was observing the entire scene, in silence. Tom didn’t know what to say and with that attitude he was only aggravating the entire situation in front of the men. E2 couldn’t stay there and doing nothing. There was a possibility that he would regret his actions later, but he’d waited too much time to be free, like any other human being and those two men, Coulson and Brown, were nothing more than problems but he didn’t want to do something he could regret. After all, he didn’t want to become a monster and he wasn’t even sure he could do it.

 

_‘Stop fighting your true nature, do it’_

 

‘I can’t”

 

_‘You have the power’_

 

‘I don’t…’

 

His friend taught him how to control some of his ability and, even though, he’d never dared to use them in his room, he knew that the desert he visited in his dream, was more real that he could ever imagined. There he learnt how to control his psychic powers and as he could read his friend’s mind in that desert, he was able to read Tom’s ones in the reality.

So he knew that he wouldn’t fail that time, that those men stood no chance against him. He looked at them and noticed their guns. All he had to do was to control their mind and then they would everything he wanted them to do. Was it really fair ? He didn’t want to hurt them. He’d never used his powers against other people.

He didn’t… he couldn’t…

He looked at the men and he thought about their families, how could he destroy their lives ? He could find another way. He could use his powers to tell them to go away.

 

_‘No witnesses’_

 

‘I… I can’t… I’m not ready…’

 

E2 hoped Eren wouldn’t make him do it, because he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to hurt those men, he didn’t want to have blood on his hands. How could he be free if he sacrificed two human beings now ?

 

_“Tom, what’s happening ?”_ Insisted Zeke.

 

“Doctor Xavier, you’re sweating…” noticed Brown “… Is everything alright ?” He asked looking E2 and slowly putting his hand upon his gun.

 

_‘Do it…’_

 

E2 knew he had no other options than obeying when he felt Eren taking control of his mind and body.

Their minds were connected, like theywere half of the same mind, at the point when they didn’t know where one began and the other finished. E2 knew they were clones, he knew that their connection was deeper from the ones with the other shifters, stronger even, and sometimes E2 was afraid of it. Afraid that Eren could make him lose his mind if he wanted.

Tom’s behavior was making them look suspicious. E2 couldn’t risk his freedom and the one of his kind because of those two individuals. He also feared the consequences for Tom, in case someone found out that he was helping the most important guinea pig of the building to run away.

They would kill him and turn him into a Titan and E2 couldn’t allow it to happen.

He had to intervene, he had to do something.

 

_‘You know what you have to do’_

 

‘No… please…’

 

‘ _It’s time for you to prove you deserve your freedom’_

 

He felt a strong headache, that made him close his eyes for a second and he felt a buzz. Like all his neurons were fighting against the external agent that was trying to control them. His head hurt so much that he bite his lower lip not to scream. He’d never felt such pain before, like his head was going to blow up.

_‘Submit’_

 

He did.

 

“Gentlemen…” he started “… Grab your guns…” he said while his eyes starter brighting in gold.

 

“What are you…” started saying Brown.

 

Both of men were suddenly scared by that boy with golden eyes. What kind of monster he was ? Why were his eyes of that color now ? Why did it change ?

Before Coulson could grab his gun to point it against him, his own hand grabbed the hand first. Both of them soon realized that they had no control over their body anymore.

 

“Point them against each other” ordered E2, not daring to take his eyes off them.

 

“Eren…” said Tom, suddenly scared from the other’s actions “What are you doing ?”

 

‘ _You can close your eyes, Tom…’_

 

“You can close your eyes Tom…” said E2 with indifference “… Feuer !”

 

Coulson and Brown shot each other in the heart in the same moment. Their wounds started bleeding and then they fell on the floor. E2 came closer to them, to be sure that they were officially dead, while Tom was watching the entire scene horrified. 

 

“Why are you so disgusted Tom ? You’ve been killing people in the name of research since the day you started working on Ymir serum. Today, I killed in the name of my freedom.” Said E2

 

E2 cared for Tom, he was a dear friend to him, and he hated the look on the other’s face. He hated that Tom was looking at him with… fear.

much less for his opinions though and if the other wanted to act like a moralist toward him then E2 wouldn’t hesitate to shut him up. Tom’s hands were dirty of blood, as mush as his. E2’d never killed anyone before, he’d never thought about that eventuality, at least not so soon, but he needed to meet his other half and he would let anyone to stand in his way. After all, he was already considered less than a human being. Those people considered him nothing more than a living blood sack. Why should he have any qualms ?

He wasn’t pure. In his mind, with his friend, he killed, he tortured, he kidnapped, he slaughtered, he set the entire world on fire on a daily basis. Another thing that he and Krueger had in common.

They mind weren’t pure anymore and so his heart at that point.

Wait… those thoughts… couldn’t belong to him… could they ?

 

‘What are you doing to my mind ?’

 

_‘Yours mind is mine, my thoughts are yours. We’re one’_

 

E2 was scared. The connection between his mind and Eren’s was strong but he’d never felt it so strong. Usually he was able to push Eren out of his head quite easily, but maybe he was underestimating him and his power. Maybe Eren presented to be weaker than he actually was, or maybe E2 was slowly allowing the other to take control of his actions. E2 knew he could count on Eren’s power in case in danger and it wouldn’t be the first time he let the other in charges of his action, but now he didn’t want any of that. He wanted Eren out of his head.

 

 

“ _Tom, I heard shots, what’s happening ? Where are you ?”_

 

“Zeke… Zeke I…”

 

In that moment two women white white coat were going downstairs and when one of them saw the two bodies on the ground, she screamed. Of course, Zeke heard it too.

 

“Tom, I call the security”

“No, Zeke don’t…”

 

Before Tom could finish the sentence, the call was cut off. E2 knew he couldn’t stay there, with Tom. He didn’t know where he should go, but from that moment, he had to find the way out alone.He grabbed Tom’s head in his head.

 

‘No, please I don’t want to do it…’

 

_‘No witnesses’_

 

‘He’s my friend’

 

“Eren… what are you doing ?” Asked Tom with sadness.

 

E2 realized he was crying and that his hands were trembling. He was biting his lips strongly, tasting his blood on his tongue, because he wanted to hurt himself instead of Tom. The buzz inside his head was increasing, at the point he had to close his eyes. He probably screamed at some point because he felt like his head was going to blow up. He was feeling a pain he didn’t imagine he would feel in his life, worse than any needle used by the nurses.

His chest was aching, because he didn’t want to give in. He didn’t want Eren to take control of his body, he didn’t want to hurt anyone else.

 

‘There’s nothing worse than by isolated inside your mind. I can turn it into a living hell if you don’t…’

 

‘Stop it’

 

“Eren… “ said Tom, looking at him like he was saying ‘it’s okay, I forgive you’

 

E2 closed his eyes again, while other tears ran along his cheeks. He wanted to tell Tom that he didn’t mean to hurt him, that he cared for him. He wasn’t a monster, or a killer. That he didn’t want any of that. He was fighting, to keep his hands off Tom, not to grab his shoulders with both hands, not to look him in the eyes, with his golden eyes.

 

_‘It will hurt, sorry again’_

 

“It will hurt, sorry again”

 

He was E2 no more. He was Eren, he was Eren… and Eren wanted the only person aware of his existence out of the way, to prevent anyone from finding out about his existence.

He was Eren… and Eren wanted to hurt, to kill, to rip apart the mind of one of the people who knew about his existence, whom had participated in locking him inside a room all that time.

Eren wanted to be free.

Eren wanted his revenge.

Eren wanted E2 to prove he was worthy of being part of his kingdom.

Eren wanted what E2 wanted, so E2 wanted what Eren wanted.

It was a simple paradigm.

E2 was nothing but a shadow of the real Eren, a fuzzy reality with faded colors and no contours. 

 

‘The curse is upon me…’

 

_‘Lady of Shalott’_

 

…

 

MARLEY COASTS 14 SEPTEMBER 7:00

 

_“Annie… Annie… wake up…”_

 

Annie felt a sudden buzz inside his hand, that quickly caused her headache. She felt weak and pain all over her body, each muscle of her body ached and yet there was something, something inside her that was ordering her body to wake up, to obey. She opened her eyes and tried to scream, but her voice died inside her throat.

She wanted to scream for help, she felt like she could have a seizure. Her heart was beating fast, she was sweating and scared.

 

_“Stop rebelling. Stay calm”_

 

Again, her body obeyed before her mind. Her heartbeat returned regular, she stopped sweating and she had no headache. She was feelings suddenly calm and that should scare her to death, but she couldn’t. The voice told her to stay calm and she obeyed. She sat on her bed and there she was, waiting for the next order, like her body no longer belonged to her, like she had no longer a free will. She was only a puppet that was waiting for the next order. 

In that moment Reiner entered in the room. He had in his hand a bottle of water and a package of biscuits.

 

“You’re awake. Good. I’m sure you’re hungry and thirsty”

 

Annie didn’t answer, she limited to look at him with indifference. Actually Annie wasn’t sure of how she felt toward Reiner. He crumbled when she needed him to fight with her against the Armored Titan. He chose to die for himself, instead to fight for his people, for his comrades and friends, just like he had done the first time in Paradise.

She needed him, she needed someone to help her and instead she had been left behind and now she had no more memories of that period. A lot of things could have happen to her, related to the voice she heard in her head and that took control of her mind and body. What did happen in Paradise ? How did she escape ? Was she losing her mind ?

Reiner put the bottle of water next to her.

She grabbed the bottle, without thanking her comrade, she opened and drunk it. She should have been thirsty after four days spent sleeping, but she wasn’t. The water inside her mouth was disgusting and she was tempted to spit it in Reiner’s face.

 

“How are you feeling ?”

 

Annie noticed too late her mistake, when she opened her mouth before she was allowed to do it. No one told her she could answer. No one allowed her to do anything on her own.

She looked at Reiner, to see if he had noticed something strange about her, but he wasn’t even looking at her.

Why did he bother with questions he didn’t care to know the answers of ?

 

_“You’re alive”_

 

“I’m alive”

 

‘Not thanks to you though…’ she thought.

 

“It’s a good news” replied Reiner playing with his fingers.

 

_“Where are we ?”_

 

“Where are we ?” Asked Annie biting her lower lip.

 

“It’s an underground facility, located nearby the coast and the Mansion, at least what’s left of it”

“Is it safe remaining so close to a place where a carnage has occurred ?” She asked.

 

Surprising, not one told her to remain quiet that time. Her head didn’t hurt, she could look Reiner with her eyes, without hiding no one else behind them. She tried to tell him that something was wrong with her but her mouth stopped to obey again.

That situation was irking her and for the frustration she opened the package so strong, that the biscuits almost fell all on the ground.

If Reiner was confused about her attitude, he surely didn’t seem to care. He didn’t even see to care about what was happening around him. Annie was sure that in that moment she could even snapped his neck before he realized she’d left the bed.

 

“Magath wants to come back to Paradise”

 

“Magath is nothing but an idiot if he really thinks he can come back to Paradise”

 

“Why ? Have you remembered everything ?”

 

_“Don’t say anything”_

 

“Why are you not answering ?” Asked Reiner getting closer.

 

_“Because I told you so”_

 

Annie completely ignored the other and grabbed a biscuit. Those biscuits were old and she despised their test in her mouth but she couldn’t talk. Her mouth refused to answer and she feared the consequences if she tried to disobey. That submission didn’t suit her, or it didn’t suit the Annie Leonhard she used to be. The girl she’d become was nothing more than a puppet, a shadow, an empty shell to fill with others’ desires. 

 

“I can’t”

 

“Or you don’t want ?” Pressed her Reiner.

 

“I can’t because I don’t remember anything. Between you and me, I’m not the one who owns the other an explanation” remarked Annie.

 

“Then why are you so convinced that coming back to Paradise is a bad idea ?”

 

“Use the brain inside your head for once in your life. If you concentrate enough I’m sure than even you will realize that coming back there will be a bad idea”

 

“How could you be in such a sore mood already ?” Asked Reiner disturbed by her attitude “Did have nightmares ?”

 

‘Not nightmares, memories’ she thought.

She couldn’t stop dreaming about three things. A syringe. An explosion. A scream.

Those three things tormented her in all of her dreams, every single night and she didn’t know how could she stop all of that pain.

She was scared of closing her eyes, she was scared of waking up and found herself on Paradise and she was terrified that one day she would wake up with her mind and body no longer under her control.

Her father had trained her since her childhood to be a fighter, to control her mind in order to submit to her rationality all her instincts. That allowed her to be one of the best warriors, yet all that self control had failed her when she needed it the most.

 

“Don’t you want to talk with me ?”

 

_“You can’t”_

 

Annie said nothing. She grabbed the bottle of water again and drank.

 

“Annie, we were both there… that day… after the explosion. You should talk about it with me, at least”

 

“I know. Berthold was there as well. Why don’t you say what happened to him ?” Asked Annie more to provoke him than for other reasons.

 

“I don’t know, I don’t know what to say” answered Reiner.

 

“Neither do I. I only know we’re here and he’s not” said Annie.

 

“Annie, no one believes that you’ve spent three years on that island in coma. What do you remember ?”

 

Annie closed her eyes, she thought about Paradise and then she could almost feel the perfume of the grass, the shadow of the Wall Sina protecting her from the sun. The scream, the blood, Berthol…

 

“On either side the river lie… Long fields of barley and of rye… That clothe the wold and meet the sky… And thro’ the filed the road runs by… to many-tower’d Camelot…”

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2095

 

_“Annie !! Annieee !! Please answer me !”_

 

_Annie couldn’t wake up. She felt a buzz inside her head and she couldn’t even open her eyes. Where was she ? She couldn’t move her body, but she felt something soft under her. She was laying on the grass, she could feel the smell of it._

_Where was she ? What was happening around her ? Who was calling for her ?_

 

_“Annie !! Answer me, are you okay ?”_

 

_‘Bert… why was he screaming ? What’s happening…’_

_She wanted to come back to sleep, she wanted to be in one of her dreams, where she wouldn’t fell pain. Where she would pretend not to be there._

_She saw Bert upon her but she couldn’t distinguish him pretty well, her sight was cloudy. Bert grabbed her from her shoulder, which made Annie feel dizzier._

 

_“I’m… am… ant… feailing… wlel…”_

 

_She hated that she couldn’t speak well, it made her feeling stupid._

 

_“I know, but we need to get out of here. There’s something wrong here. When I woke up… all the people… the nurses… the doctors… were dead… something killed them”_

 

_“Tompeone” she corrected even._

 

_“Not… something… whatever killed our comrades wasn’t human.”_

 

_“Wiii ate iii herrr ?”_

 

_“I took you out of the building. As soon as I could stand up, I started looking for you. When I found you, I took you out here. I have to come back inside. Reiner is still there”_

 

_Annie wanted to scream at him not to leave her alone out there, that she couldn’t move, that her body hurt and that she was scared. If there was something dangerous out there that had killed someone, they couldn’t split up. They needed to stay together to survive. They needed to have each other back._

_She needed him to be with her._

_She tried to reach the other’s wrist but it was too late, Berthold was already running toward the entrance of the building._

_She sighed and looked in front of her. There was the famous Wall Sina in front of her. It was the Wall the surrounded the entire facility, preventing everyone and everything to leave the area without the guards to know. There was something strange about her. Before to leave Marley, they had been warned not to leave the facility unsupervised, because they could risk to get out from it and bump into some titan. There was any titan nearby, she couldn’t hear their verses, their footsteps, their presence. Nothing. Where were they ?_

_Could it be possible that titans had infiltrated the facility ? It seemed so unlikely. How could titans enter inside the facility without anyone noticing ? Someone had caused it, or something else._

_She bite her lower lip, grabbed some blade of grass under her finger and she supported herself on her arms to sit up. She looked around, but now that her sight was no longer cloudy, it was easier to see that there was no one around her, nor titan or human. She was alone but it didn’t calm her._

 

_“Whet tid Bert… hold gooo ?” She asked to herself._

 

_“There’s a passage that leads to the undergrounds…” said a voice behind her that made her jump “… but you won’t find it because you don’t know where to look”_

 

_She turned around, ready to attack or defend herself from the stranger but what she saw actually surprised her. There was a boy, of her age, average height with a broad, muscular build. Brown hair, freckles and brown hair._

_She was sure to have seen that guy somewhere, but in that moment she couldn’t remember when or where. He was dressed up like a scientist, he was wearing a white coat, with a pair of brown trousers and a pair of horrible shoes of the same color._

 

_“Who… What…”_

 

_Annie didn’t know which question to ask first. She had no many questions in her mind. Where were the titans ? Where were her comrades ? Were she and Berthold the only two survivors ? How could that young man look so calm if something was killing people inside ?_

_Maybe he didn’t even know, after all the facility was a labyrinth, was enormous, or maybe someone had fixed the problem, that was why he was calm._

_She didn’t know him, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him._

 

_“Where are… the titans ?” She asked, relief that she was slowly speaking normal again._

 

_“Someone killed them. Someone who’s still inside the building” answered the boy._

 

_“Are you a scientist ? Why are you here alone ? What’s your name ?”_

 

_“My name is Mark. I’m here because I saw you and the other shifter coming here. I followed you, but then he came back inside.”_

 

_“I need to find him” said Annie._

 

_She was feeling better now, not enough strong to fight or shift, but strong enough to walk and run, if it was needed. She still didn’t trust that guy, but she needed to know where the entrance was. Berthold needed her help._

 

_“Are you sure you want to go ahead ?” Asked Mark examining with his eyes._

 

_How could she doubt he was a scientist ? He was looking at her with the same ways of scientists, like she was some kind of important discovery he needed to protect. Yet, there was something about that boy that didn’t make her feel at easy. She had seen him somewhere but she couldn’t remember where._

 

_“He’s my comrade, he needs me”_

 

_“He needs help ah ?” Asked the other with a strange tone._

 

_Annie didn’t miss that his expression hardened, his eyes got darkened, his face more aggressive. His words hide something and Annie couldn’t ignore that there was hatred inside his eyes, in the way he was looking at her._

_Why was he looking at her like that ? Did she say something wrong ?_

_Her fighter’s instincts were slowly awakening. If the other wanted to attack her, she was ready to defend herself, even thought she would lose time._

 

_“Where’s the entrance for the facility ?”_

 

_“Don’t you remember ?” He asked ignoring her question._

 

_“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise” she said._

 

_“I wasn’t talking about the entrance”_

 

_“Pity, it’s the only think I care in this moment”_

 

_She was ready to attack him, to grab him by his throat to make him talk, to lead her toward the entrance. She was ready to use all her abilities to get him out of her way and find Berthold as soon as possible. She was going to move when she felt a buzz in her ears and pain, coming from her head and spreading to any cell of her body._

_So much pain to make her getting on her knees._

_She bite her lower lip not to scream but her eyes were crying and her lip started bleeding. She didn’t even realize the boy coming closer._

 

_“This is the key for entering…” he glared at her, his eyes sharpened “…pain, Lady of Shalott”_

 

_…_

 

_“_ … And up and down the people go… gazing where the lilies blow… round an island d there below… The island of Shalott…”

 

“Annie !” Reiner put a hand on her shoulder.

 

The gesture made Annie jumped. Suddenly she was no longer on Paradise, no Berthold to look for. There wasn’t that boy, Marco, with her, but Reiner.

‘Marco ?’ She thought.

Why her mind called him Marco ? He told her his name was Mark. Were her memories slowly returning to her ? Were those memories or hallucinations ? She wasn’t sleeping and that flashback seemed so real, if she closed her eyes she could still see the face of that guy and smell grass.

 

“Lady of Shalott” said a third voice in the room.

 

Both Reiner and Annie looked at the person who’d just entered inside the room. Annie remembered who he was, the blond guy whom’d approached her at the party. Armin Arlert. She didn’t know him well, but she was relief that he was okay.

Reiner, on the other hand, was disturbed by his presence. He was still convinced that there was something suspicious about that boy. His light blue eyes seemed to suggest that the blond was aware of something Reiner and the others were ignoring, something that it was so clear, so easy to figure it out that made them look like a joke in his eyes.

He was an excellent observant and Reiner noticed that the blond was able of remaining hours in silence, observing everyone and everything about him, to analyze them, to understand strengths and weakness and use them for his own goals. Furthermore, Arlert asked all the questions, but he asked them like he already knew the right answered and he wanted to know if others knew them as well or not. Maybe Reiner was simply paranoid, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Arlert knew the truth about the incident happened on Paradise in 2090 while they didn’t. What else did he know ? What other secret was he hiding ?”

 

“What ?” Asked Reiner.

 

“She was reciting the Lady of Shalott of Tennyson.” He simply explained “Don’t you know it ?”

 

“No” answered Reiner feeling provoked.

 

Arlert snorted “Of course you don’t. Silly question”

 

He came closer to them, ignoring Reiner’s glare at him. Armin found the other’s attempt to look threatening pretty funny.

 

“Why do you look so disturbed ? I’m sure I haven’t interrupted a poetry contest, even in that case you should be grateful…” said Armin glaring at Reiner “… I spared you a humiliation”

 

“You seem to like provoking me” said Reiner.

 

“Guys please, don’t” said Annie.

 

She was feeling tired and weak, she didn’t want to witness a fight between those two. S he wanted to learn more about the poem she was reciting.

 

“You said Lady of Shalott, can you tell me more about it ?”

 

Armin boringly looked at her and he didn’t answer. He really didn’t want to talk about Lady of Shalott, that poem brought to his mind too many memories, both happy and painful. The poem itself symbolized his existence and the ones of all the habitants of Paradise Island.

A cursed population. Cursed not to know the truth of the world. Cursed to live surrounded by the walls of ignorance. Cursed to die when the curiosity fell upon it.

It was a curse, because the man, like a moth attracted to the fire, was attracted to the knowledge. Armin wondered if they were destined to die because of it, if, like the Lady of Shalott, tired to live a life in the reflection, chose to leave the safety of the walls and to fight the waves of sea.

How could she die ? She was protected so well. Locked up on an island, a mirror allowed her to see at least the reflection of reality but the desire to know the world was her doom. The illness that was slowly killing her. Because like any other human being, she wanted to be free and the desire of freedom could be destructive.

Armin kore it between than anyone.

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2090 23:00

 

_“Who is this ? And what is here ?… And in the lighted palace near… died the sound of a royal cheer… and they cross’d themselves for fear… All the knights at Camelot… But Lancelot mused a little space… He said “She had a lovely face… God in his mercy lend her grace… The Lady of Shalott”_

 

_Armin finished to read the poem and closed the book, looking at the guy who was sitting next to him. Eren looked pretty confused by the end of the poem and Armin was waiting the other for asking questions._

_He knew he should have interrupted their clandestine meetings a long time ago, but he really couldn’t. Although the others considered Eren nothing more than a guinea pig, or an octopus vulgaris to squeeze for the blood, Armin was able to see something more in him. He saw it the first time he went inside that room with Langar to observe Eren closely._

_When their eyes met, something happened, a sort of mutual understanding between them. Or at least something that convinced Eren to brake only Ilse’s arms and not one of his as well._

_Eren was violent and aggressive with the other nurses and scientists, most of them refused to meet him twice and a little part couldn’t because he simply killed them but with Armin… with Armin was different and everyone noticed. Armin was sure that Lord Tybur knee about their meeting but he hadn’t done nothing because, as long as Eren was cooperative with someone in the facility, he wouldn’t complain._

 

_“What killed her Armin ? The love for that knight or her desire to be free ?” He whispered._

 

_“The desire to be free. Morgana’s cursed had taken her right of freedom away from her since her childbirth. She had spent her entire life locked up inside a tower and she knew that there was a world, out of it, a world she couldn’t belong due to the curse”_

 

_“… Someone took her freedom away from her… as someone has done with me…” he whispered._

 

_“Eren…”_

 

_Whatever things he would say, it would sound foolish. Armin couldn’t understand Eren under that point of view, despite his intelligence. Armin hadn’t spent his whole life inside the same room. Erenhad never seen the sky, or the sun, he didn’t know the smell of the grass, the shades of seas. He’d never seen the bird flying or the flowers bloom. Like the Lady of Shalott, he was doom to live inside those four white walls, because of a curse, a curse that was running inside his blood. A curse that someone was spreading, turning other into monsters, taking their lives away from them, alienating them from the world._

 

_“She didn’t die on that river. She was slowing dying inside anyway, inside that tower, she simply chose how to put an end on that sufferance” commented Eren “I don’t think I’ve question. I understand her completely”_

 

_“You’re not cursed” dared to say Armin, even thought he didn’t sound convincing._

 

_After all, could the abilities inside Eren’s blood be a gift ? Of course not. Eren’s blood was the reason why he was there. The cause of all his troubles._

_Ymir serum was the closest thing to a weapon of mass destruction due to all the victims it’d done since the first prototype. Thousands lives had been sacrificed in the name of the research. When he became a scientist, Armin was convinced that any sacrifice was worthy to be made, because what hurt today could save tomorrow. Pain and the struggle for survival were two things that had been allowing the human kind to develop._

_He believed that only the ones who were ready to give up on anything, even their own humanity, could achieve great things in their lives. Armin had sacrificed a lot to attend a prestigious university, to get his degree, to work for the Tybur Industries._

_He had seen his grandpa since the day his application was accepted. He tired to call him regularly but he always made up excuses not to come back home. Before because he didn’t want to interrupt his researches, now because he feared to leave Eren alone._

_He was the only friend the brunet had and, if he had to be completely honest, he feared that, if he went away, he wouldn’t find Eren when he returned._

 

_“My blood is cursed. I don’t want to end up like the Lady of Shalott, but I feel like there’s no way I can escape my fate” he commented._

 

_“You’re not the Lady of Shalott” insisted Armin._

 

_“You’re right. Because differently from her, I’ve no escape. There’s no way I can leave this room and even if it happens, where would I go ? I will die as soon as I leave this place. I don’t know how to live in the world”_

 

_Armin remained silent. Again, there was nothing he could say. What Eren was saying was real. He couldn’t leave the building and even though he would, Lord Tybur would be able to set the entire world on fire to find the Nucleus back._

 

_“Armin…” said Eren grabbing his wrist “… I don’t want to die like her… I don’t want to die alone”_

 

_His eyes were bright while he was speaking. Armin knew that what scared Eren the most was dying alone, with the knowledge that no one cared enough about him to hold his hand until his eyes would close for one last time._

_Eren didn’t want to be surrounded by the silence, he didn’t want that the last thing he would see was that white ceiling. That his body would be dissected, his organs analyzed, his cells used to proceed with researches. He didn’t want that his legacy to be monsters. Titans._

 

_“Eren…”_

 

_“I think you should go. Thank for reading me this poem. Can you lend me the book ?” Asked Eren playing with the sleeve of his grey jumper._

 

_“Of course” said Armin standing up._

 

_“Will you come back tomorrow ?” Asked Eren_

 

_“I don’t think so” answered Armin._

 

_He enjoyed spending time with Eren, he enjoyed talking with him about the world outside that facility. He loved when he saw Eren’s eyes brighten when he admired pictures of seas, when he didn’t understand something and asked question after question. He looked so much like a child in that moment and he was adorable. They were those few moment when he showed enthusiasm for something, where his face lighten up._

_Armin loved seeing the other smiling._

 

_“I hope you will” said Eren standing up and kissing the other on his cheek “ I will miss you”_

 

_The brunet hugged him and gave him another kiss on the neck, that made Armin blushed, but again it wasn’t Eren’s fault. Armin had read various romance novel to the brunet, where couple hugged and kissed on cheek and neck to say goodbye. The possibility for Eren to experience those stuff with someone else were low, so Eren decided to do the hugs and kisses stuff with him, because Armin was the closest person to him._

_Armin didn’t have the courage to tell him not to do it because it embarrassed him. Clumsy, he returned the hug, but not the kiss. It wouldn’t be appropriate and he didn’t want to give Eren wrong messages. Eren deserved someone who actually loved him, who was willing to risk everything, even his own humanity, to allow him to see the world. To escape from there._

 

_…_

 

 

_“_ … Lady of Shalott wants to communicate us that our curiosity is legitimate, but it can be our doom as well.”

 

“So…” said Annie “It wasn’t love to kill her, but her desire for freedom”

 

“Yes, but I suggest not to brood over this. You’re not the Lady of Shalott” said Armin, meaning it.

 

Armin didn’t consider her the Lady of Shalott, they had nothing in common. She wasn’t… she had no idea of it meant being in trap.

Maybe he was unfair, but he still hold a grudge toward her, for what she did back in Paradise. She was the one who had taught Armin how to be ruthless, that no he could trust no one.

How could she, or Reiner, still fight for the people who had turned them into monsters ? For the people that intended to use them to conquer the world ? To kill people ?

Why didn’t they rebel ? How could they accept all of that ? How could they just accept, when they had the possibility to fight for their own kind ?

Armin didn’t know what it meant hating someone until he was accept in the Warrior Unit.

 

“Of course she’s not. Lady of Shalott is just a poem, nothing more”

 

“Yes, I do know.” Said Annie “But I don’t remember to have ever read this poem. How can I know it ? So well to reciting it ?”

 

“Annie, you seem to forget that your mind is connected with the ones of the other shifters. Pieck is the nerd type, she seems a living encyclopedia, or Zeke. He’s another one whom seems to know everything” said Reiner.

 

“But why now ? Why after Paradise ? It’s not normal. I used to be able to recognize when some memories or knowledge belonged to my mind or someone else’. The Lady of Shalott…”

 

“Wanted to be free, like you” said Armin “You’re feeling persecuted by whatever happen in Paradise, but they are just memories. You should stop thinking about them before you cannot distinguish what’s real or not anymore”

“It’s easy for you. You’re not even an official warrior, what do you know about what we’ve been through ?” Asked Reiner “I bet that the most dangerous thing happen to you is…”

“Being almost eaten by a titan because of your weakness” interrupted him Armin.

 

“You bast…”

 

Reiner was going to hit him, Armin read it in his eyes and he knew that Annie was too weak to stop him. Reiner was physically stronger than him, but slower and his attack was a simple push, Armin was sure of that for two reasons. The push was a simple attack, enough to make a message clear, in that case that Reiner wanted to put him in his place, and the second was that Reiner believed that for someone so short and weak, a simple push was enough and efficient. If Reiner pushed him with all his strength, Armin would hurt a lot. Fortunately, the push was a linear attack, all he had to do in order to avoid the attack was to get out of his line, then he needed to use his hands to defend himself. Reiner was sitting on the chair and, since Armin was shorter than him, he should have kept a low posture to push him away. So Armin could easily cross the other hands and then strike his nasal septum to provoke a shock to his cervical. Armin didn’t use to be a scientist for nothing. His knowledge and his training together were a lethal combinations.

In the end he hit Reiner strong enough to defend himself from his push but not enough to make the other fall, which was exactly what was expected from him.

 

“It wasn’t necessary.” Said Armin “You could have simply tell me you wanted me to leave”

 

“Well, now you know. You’re not wanted” said Reiner “I don’t trust you”

 

“Reiner…” said Annie.

 

“No Annie. He knew something nobody but Magath was aware. The incident happened in 2090”

 

“The incident ? What incident ? Someone stole the Ymir serum and used it for a terrorist attack to discredit Lord Tybur and Marley. The rivalry between Marley and Paradise is not a secret” said Annie.

 

“Magath admitted that it wasn’t a terroristic attack, but it was caused by someone who worked inside the facility. Paradise Island has become no man land only because our security committed a mistake”

 

“What are you saying ?” Asked Annie with wide eyes “It wasn’t…”

 

“How did you know ? Who told you ? Do you know something else ?” Asked Reiner ignoring Annie’s question.

 

“No one spilled the bills, if this is what you suspect and I didn’t know anything. I simply had suspicions that Magath confirmed”

 

“Suspicions ? You sounded pretty confident when you faced Magath” replied Reiner.

  
“Ask the questions in the right way and you will get the answers you want. I knew that I have asked my questions with confidence, like I already knew everything, Magath would have seen no point in lying. You can lie only when the other person doesn’t know the truth” explained Armin.

 

“You seem so convinced he’d lied to you” commented Annie.

  
“He was lying to all of you, wasn’t he ?” Retorted Armin.

 

“Now we know… What’s your angle ?” Asked Annie.

 

“What do you mean ?” Asked Armin.

  
“Why was so important for you to prove Magath was lying ?” Asked Annie thinning her eyes.

 

‘Here… someone who asks the right questions…’ Armin thought. He shouldn’t be surprised after all. He’d spent so much time in her head that he perfectly knew how Annie’s mind worked. How she thought, what she observed about the people and what she chose to ignore. Annie had impressive analytical skills,high intelligence, she thought deeply about the situations, excellent ability of problem solving, that plus her general calm attitude made her a good tactician. She didn’t like talking about her past and she was convinced that being an exclusionary and isolated person could refrain the other from interest with her and approach her.

Annie thought that she was finally understanding what Reiner meant when he said that he didn’t like the way Armin looked at the people around him.

He looked at them like they were games he could play with.

 

“Because I wanted to be sure I can trust him to have my back. Now I know that he cannot be trusted, that’s all” answered Armin.

 

“And can we trust you ?” Asked Reiner.

 

Armin lowered his head, then he looked at him in the eyes. Reiner didn’t see nothing in those two blue pupils. How could someone hide his emotions so well ? Why was Armin so afraid to expose himself ?

Someone who hide his true nature, was someone with many secrets. He wondered what Armin was willing to do in order to protect those secret.

 

“You can. Can I trust you ?”

 

Annie didn’t answer. She didn’t know him too well and Armin apparently wasn’t a guy easy to understand. She was usually diffident of those kind of people, but until that moment Armin hadn’t done nothing wrong.

Reiner instead grabbed the other’s wrist with strength, willing to finding out some of his secrets. Armin knew more thing than all of them about the incident happened in Paradise in 2090. Reiner wanted to know if he had informations about something else, the researches conducted on Paradise, something about the nucleus. Something about his private life. Reiner wanted to be sure they could trust Armin, that he was devoted to the cause as all of them, ready to sacrifice his life.

 

“No, you can’t”

…

 

‘So that is the rain…’ E2 observed when he was finally out of the building.

 

He still didn’t believe that he was free, that there was a sky above him and not a white ceiling anymore. He didn’t believe that he was breathing fresh hair. That he was walking on on a real lawn, made of real grass. His superior olfaction could see it, he had no idea that grass could have such a smell. He had no idea that the sky could have so many colors. The white of the stars, the dark blu, and the shades of light blue around the circumference of moon.

He wished he’d experienced it with Tom, or someone whom cared about him.

Where would he go from now on ? How would he survive a world he didn’t know ? Where did he have to go ? He didn’t know the path to follow.

He didn’t even know what he was doing, what he was capable to do.

 

‘You’re not alone… proceed and not look back’

He nodded. He was trembling, because he was scared, to death. He started sweating and he grabbed the backpack’ straps, because he needed something he could cling on. He needed an anchor.

He started walking again, keeping attention to everything around him. No matter how much frightened he was, he couldn’t afford to lose control on his surrounding.

He was out of the building, but he wasn’t out of danger. He was in the courtyard and the building was behind him, and E2 was farer from it at each step. Everything that he had to do was to keep walking without looking behind.

He knew that there were guards that controlled who came and went from the parking lot, specially because all the cars were owned by the Lord Tybur and no one could book them without the permission of the first head, in that case of Tom and some other few people.

If Tom was there with him, he could easily get out of there, but someone had different ideas.

 

_‘We would have left Tom behind at some point. He couldn’t come with us’_

 

‘But with a car, we’d been able to move faster and safer. We could have left him when we were far enough from the facility”

 

_‘You’re always safe. Your power is enough to keep you safe’_

 

_‘_ Tom could have kept me safe. He was like a father’

 

_‘We don’t have a father’_

 

E2 lowered his face and regretted immediately what he’d just thought. Eren was right, again. They didn’t have a father, or a family, and he shouldn’t have used that word. Eren told him about what happen with his former… caretaker. Eren prohibited him to use the word ‘father’ again.

E2 agreed with it. He knew what he was, he knew that he wasn’t… normal and that he didn’t have any father. No one out there who was waiting for him for his return and that was sad.

 

‘I don’t want to kill anymore. Why did you make do it ?’

 

He needed to know it and also wanted to change topic.

He knew that Eren killed people before, Eren’d been sincere about that since the beginning of their friendship and E2 knew that Eren wasn’t the exactly a good person. Eren sacrificed his humanity to be free, he was willing to murder thousands and build an empire made of their blood. Eren was ruthless, sadistic and sometimes E2 was afraid of him.

E2 stopped for a moment and took a breath. He could still smell the blood of those men, he didn’t know if fear had a smell, but he could swore, he smelled it as well. When he was controlling the minds of his victims, they had fought against him, trying to push him out of their mind, but they could never find a way to resist him and Eren together.

 

_‘You’re right. I shouldn’t have. I should have let you handle the situation on your own. Then maybe you will understand how things works in this world’_

 

E2 would love to reply that after years of imprisonment and isolation, he knew perfectly how the world worked. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about the world, and he suspected that it was the same for Eren. After all, Eren had spent almost twenty years insidea white room, exactly like him.

What did they know about the world ?

He bet that Eren hadn’t left Paradise once, for the only exception of the party and there he was surrounded by his friends. E2 was alone and he had no idea of what he was supposed to do once.

 

_‘There are guards at the end of the streets, you know what do to’_

 

E2 didn’t answer. He started walking again.

He knew that getting out of that situation wasn’t going to be easy, probably those two women’d already warned the security about the this homicides and now they were looking for him.

Maybe he should…

 

“Hey, over there !! Freeze !!” Screamed a voice behind him.

 

E2 noticed that there was a little red ball on his chest and that it came from a weapon, maybe a rifle, E2 couldn’t distinguish them, that a man was pointing against him.

He couldn’t see his face, he was wearing a helmet that covered his face. He was wearing a bulletproof, a chest rigg carrier, boots and he was holding his rigle.

E2 noticed that the path he was walking was suddenly illuminated.Only now he noticed that at both sides of the street, where were two traffic control towers., that were surveilling the gates in front of him. One mistake he made.

The other one was not notice that there was only one man, but he was surrounded.

 

“Identify yourself ! Who are you ?”

 

“Hands in sight !”

 

E2 raised his hand and forced himself to keep his eyes open, even thought the light was bothersome. He couldn’t identify the the men, but he noticed that now all of them were pointing their rifles against him, even the ones on the towers. What was he supposed to do ?

 

_‘Yes… What should you do ?’_

 

E2 rolled his eyes. He knew what Eren would have done in his place.

First Eren would have noticed their presence from their smell and the sound of their breath.

Secondly, Eren would have killed them without hesitation.

E2 wasn’t Eren. They were two half of the same coin, but two half nonetheless.

 

“Identify yourself”

‘I wish I could. I don’t have a name”

 

“So ? Answer the question or you’ll pay consequences”

 

E2 wasn’t in panic. Not exactly. Okay, he was. He had no idea of what to do in that situation. Those men were yelling at him altogether, asking for a name he didn’t have. The man at the center was threatening to shot him right in the head if he insisted on that attitude. Another one noticed that he didn’t have an ID wrist and surely he didn’t work for the industry.

 

“What do you have in your bag ?”

 

“Fucking answer, boy !!”

 

_‘In the future… It will be told of a night…’_

 

E2 jumped when he head Eren’s voice inside his head. He hoped the other wouldn’t have spoken to him. He didn’t want Eren to deal with the situation. He could figure it out something.

 

‘Shut up’

 

_‘…In which a monster and a man…’_

 

‘Get out of my head’

 

He wasn’t a monster. He could still do the right thing, find a way to survive without sacrifice anyone. Those men… they weren’t guilty for his misery. They were simply doing their job, they were trying to survive into a cruel and unpredictable world.

 

_‘… The two faces of the Titan King…’_

 

“I’m done, I’m going to shoot him, maybe he will finally decide to talk !”

 

“Eh ?”

The man pointed his rifle at his right knee and shot. E2 barely felt the bullet penetrating his skin but instinctively he put an hand on his knee. He was bleeding, he could feel blood on his hand, but he knew that the wound would heal soon, which was a problem. They would notice that something was wrong with him.

Although thousands bullets couldn’t kill him, that one angered him. E2 did nothing to deserve to be attacked and he was getting angry.

So angry that he used his hardened ability without even realizing. He used it to form crystal spike projection. He didn’t realize what he was doing, he didn’t even knew he was able to do it without Eren’s help.

He only knew that his knee hurt, that he was suffering and he was furious. How did that man dare to shoot him ? How did that piece of scum dare ? Who did he think he was ?

E2 wanted revenge… he wanted the other man to suffer… He wanted… blood…

he hit the man who’d shot him with crystal projectiles, three, one in the knee, one in the chest, the last in his head.

‘I… killed a man… with my powers’

That was everything E2 could think about. Eren did nothing that time.

How could he be able to control his hardening ability ? Why were his hands trembling ? What was that sensation he felt inside his throat ? He needed to vomit, he wasn’t feeling well.

 

_‘Harden ability must to be taught and differently form our psychics abilities, it has so be practiced in the reality, because the body has to get use to the amount of stamina required to use it. However, you and me are… different…’_

 

‘What do you mean ?’

 

_‘We don’t need to be taught anything. At the beginning it’s like a sneeze or a blink, it simply happens. You have to learn to control it. Again, we’re the exception’_

 

‘You should have told me. I didn’t know I could do it… I didn’t want to kill him’

 

_‘Yes, you did. You wanted him dead, your powers satisfied you’_

 

Meanwhile one man came closer to his dead comrade.

 

“He’s dead ! That monster killed him !”

 

‘I’m not a monster… I’m not a monster’ though E2 with ears in his eyes.

 

“Shoot him !”

 

All the soldiers started shooting at him at the same moment and again, without even wanting, only driven by his fear, his harden ability protected him from the bullets by creating a barrier between him and them.

 

‘I thought that more time would’ve passed before I could use my harden ability this way’

 

_‘Amateur shifters can use this ability only like an armor. They slowly learn to use it differently, for example to create daggers, as you did before. Again, we’re different’_

 

E2 rolled his eyes again. He was growing tired of being told he was different. Why was he different? Why was Eren different ?

What exactly made them so different from the other shifters ?

 

“He created a barrier ! He’s a shifter !”

 

“We’re not equipped to fight one of them !” Commented one of the soldier “I immediately call for reinforcements !”

 

‘Shit’

He had no idea of what kind of equipments the reinforcements could have, surely something efficient to fight against a shifter. E2 couldn’t take the risk to fight against those men. He couldn’t take the risk of being captured and imprisoned again. Until that moment only few people knew about his existence, he wanted it to stay that way.

No one else had to know about him, no one. He couldn’t come back there… he couldn’t lose his freedom… he and Eren had to be together.

‘I’m sorry’ he thought before to attack again.

One thing was to learn and use his abilities in his dreams, another was to use them in reality, nut he had to try, for his freedom and his kind. After all what was the point if those with the means and power didn’t fight ? He wanted to fight, he had the means and the powers and above all, he wasn’t scared.

He kicked the crystal barrier, destroying, and thousands little crystals fell on the ground. The soldiers started shooting him again. One bullet penetrated his arm and he used it as trigger for a partial transformation, in that way he could create a Titan arm in a small explosion. He managed to grabbed two men and then to keep them still by hardening his arm. He was going to separate his hand from the arm when other men started shooting against him from the two control towers. He could barely see the men due to the light coming from both towers, so he used his harden ability to destroy the warning lights.

In the dark he could see them, but they couldn’t see him.

 

_‘Now ! Kill them all, no witnesses’_

 

‘No… I’m not a monster…’

 

“Damn it ! I can see nothing !”

 

“Where is him ?”

 

“Do you see him ?”

 

_‘Just take a deep breath. You will get used to it’_

 

_‘_ I’m not a monster’

 

_‘The reinforcements are coming’_

 

E2 raised both his hand to grab his head, wanting to ignore Eren completely, but the soldiers started shooting again and before he could realize, when he raised his arms, other daggers went out and hit three other soldiers, killing them. He looked at his arms and he noticed that they were bleeding in various part and he could feel the bullet inside. They hurt.

 

‘They hurt… every time…’

 

His eyes widen. Maybe he was beginning to see a scheme. The pain was necessary to activate his ability, plus a motivation. In that case his will to get out of that place. He needed to feel pain to be strong. He’d never thought about his titan abilities in that way. Maybe the same didn’t count for his psychic abilities, but now he remembered that in his dreams, Eren always bite his hand before to use his titan abilities.

If he was right, he needed to be very careful in the future. Eren told him something, but he seemed to enjoy keeping him in the dark about other things, like he was curious to know if E2 was smart enough to figure it out things without any help.

 

_‘You’re only a seed. You have no idea of what you could do. Who, you could become’_

 

E2 ignored Eren’s voice. That wasn’t the time to think about what he could do, that wasn’t the time to think, it was the moment to act. All he had to do was to find a way to surpass the gates. He killed all the men who were surrounding him, he didn’t have to kill the snipers too. He could spare their lives, he only had to find a way. He bite his hand deep, until he could taste his own blood and trigger another partial transformation. That time, the arm was longer and stronger enough to create a hole in the gates. He tore the hand from it and let the arm evaporate. Without the light and with the steam, snipers couldn’t detect him. He ran toward the hole, paying attention at any sound around him. He concentrated and he could hear footsteps nearby. The reinforcements were arriving, so he needed to hurry up. Once he was out, he used his harden ability to close the hole. The men were still trying to see him through the steam, so he started running.

 

‘I’m not the Lady of Shalott anymore’

 

That was the last thing he thought, before someone shot him from behind hitting him in the shoulder.

Then only a scream and death it brought with it.

 

…

 

MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY THREE HOURS LATER…

 

Erwin Smith was impatient and he was aware that that state could cloud his judgment. He was also frustrated, because he knew where his target was, he knew that Magath couldn’t go anywhere for the moment, he had information that could put every single member of Tybur Industries on his knees and yet all he could do was waiting.

Patient was an important quality and he considered himself a patient man, but he was tired of waiting. He wished he could have had more to study the files he had, to elaborate a valid solution, but nothing come to mind.

‘There’s something I can do, but what ?’

He was in his office, with a hot cup of coffee in his right hand, looking at the white board on the wall, where he could see the web of pictures, documents and red string he created.

He was so close to complete the puzzle and yet the truth kept slipping away from his fingers.

He heard a knock on his door and he invited the person to come in, without asking who she or he was.

 

“I knew you were alreadyawake, if you slept .” Said Levi entering inside his office “How long have you been looking that board ?”

 

“No idea. One second I analyze every detail I can see in a picture, and the other I wonder with my mind. I’m so close to the truth that I can taste it. It’s sweet, but something prevent me from grabbing too. That’s bitter” Erwin interrupted and drunk his coffee “I can’t accept it”

 

All the pieces were in order on the chessboard, ready to be moved. There was one move, one dominant strategy that the could use and yet he was failing to see it.

 

“You said you had an idea”

 

“I do, but the outcome of this idea doesn’t depend on me. I’ve no control over the matter”

 

“Control ah ?” Said Levi “It’s overestimated.”

 

“What do you mean ?”

 

“That is clear at this point that we’re fighting against crazy people, who have giver a new meaning to the ‘crazy’ word. Maybe we shouldn’t think rationally”

 

“We can’t risk the lives of our comrades”

 

“But you’ve already moved a piece, which means, that you have sent someone to investigate the area where you think Magath could be hiding. You sacrificed his or her life”

 

Erwin was impressed, but he hide it behind a mask of imperturbability, but inside he was surprised that Levi could understand him so well already. He thought about what he said before, and he only mentioned to have an idea with an unexpected outcome, but Levi figured it out that he sent someone there to investigate in his place.

Erwin considered himself a person not easy to understand. Most of the people who knew him, considered him an heartless, ruthless man, ready to sacrifice everyone and everything in order to achieve his goals. Capable of orchestrating complicated and intricate plans, which outcome was unpredictable even to him.

They were right, Erwin was that kind of man. The man who played with the lives of the people with the same ability he used to move pieces on his chessboard. No one figured it out his intention until it was too late, but apparently Levi was already aware of his move.

 

“How did you know ?”

 

“I wasn’t spying on you. It’s simple logic. You weren’t surprised when I followed you on that room, at the mansion. You wanted to confuse me, to play with my mind. You knew you could run away at any moment”

 

“Indeed I could. I was testing you actually”

 

“Were you ? What do you want to prove ?”

 

“If you were part of Tybur Industries or not. If you were, you wouldn’t have hesitated to shot me, in that case, I would have tried anything to capture you to interrogate you. You didn’t. So there was nothing personal. In that moment I understood that I had a possibility to persuade you to join me”

 

“Your oratory skills could have persuaded anyone”

“No. Most of the people who are part of the Industries, are indoctrinated to follow certain ideals. They would die not to reveal any secret.”

 

“Are you talking by experience ?”

 

“Yes and no”

 

Levi rolled his eyes. He hated hermetical answers and he wondered if he could ever have something simple with Erwin. Probably not. Erwin Smith wasn’t a simple man, but that wasn’t a simple world anyway.

 

“I’m waiting for a signal. A clue, anything, that can help me to understand what to do next”

 

“Do you think that Magath’s still hiding somewhere near the mansion ?”

 

“I hope”

 

Levi was going to speak again, when Erwin’s cell rang. Erwin answered the phone.

 

“Mike ? Why are you calling me ?”

 

_“Something very important has just been broadcast. Something regarding the Tybur facility in Lago”_

 

Erwin listened everything with attention and when the call ended, he smirked. Finally, the clue he was waiting for arrived.

 

“Good news ?” Asked Levi

 

“Excellent actually”

 


	8. What do you see ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
> 
> \- H.P. Lovecraft

LAGO CITY 14 SEPTEMBER 13:00

 

‘How could this happen ? How could I let this happen ?’

 

E2 couldn’t stop looking at the burning Mansion from afar. He didn’t know what he did exactly, he didn’t know what triggered inside him, he didn’t know what he wanted. He only knew that whatever it was, he wanted it so bad to be able to kill all the those man in front of the gate and to burn down the closest area of the building.

He didn’t remember which area was, he didn’t remember anything in that moment. The last thing he remembered with clarity was… Tom and the soldiers in front of the gate.

He didn’t exclude a possibility that Eren was messing with his memory. Eren had the power and their mind was connected, so it was plausible.

He needed to learn how to keep Eren out of his mind. He didn’t want him to meet with him, he didn’t want him to impose his will on him.

E2 wasn’t sure that he would get over what he did to Tom so soon.

He was walking alone the street, hoping to arrive as soon as possible in Lago City and from there, he would find a way to arrive to Paradise or wherever Eren would be by then.

 

“Despite what he made me do, I still want to look for him.” He whispering.

 

He looked up and he smiled. The sky was so beautiful, so blue and the clouds and the birds what were flying, free and able to admire the world above any other creature. E2 loved them already. He would have admired them forever if he didn’t caught a sound in distance. It was a strange and noisy sound. He closet his eyes to concentrate on it. Something big and fast was running toward him. He would better hide somewhere. He ran toward the wood near the street and hide behind a tree. He saw four car with a strange colored logo and with light on it. That weird sound come from them, followed by other means of transport, but he didn’t remember their names. Vans ? Probably. He could barely distinguish a car brand from another. For him the means of transport were all the same. What really caught his attention, was that they were all running toward the Tybur facility. He heard another sound in distance, that time, it came from above. He looked up and saw a… helicopter ? Or airplane ? Again, he still had to learn how to associate their names correctly, without clinging on Eren every time. He was alone again and he had to learn how to take care of himself as soon as possible.

He waited for the street to be free again, then eh started walking again. Maybe he should walk across the wood, but he feared to lose track inside it.

 

“I should keep going.” He said to himself.

 

He held his backpack and started walking again. Maybe he shouldn’t walk at the center, maybe he should remain hidden. After all, he didn’t want to be seen by anyone.

A young man, dressed like a patient just evacuated from an asylum, with a backpack… He didn’t know many things of the world, but he was certain that it didn’t happen very often.

He still had to check the contents in the backpack. He would do it later, when he would find somewhere safe, where he could think in peace. He touched his shoulder, where he was shot. He didn’t feel pain anymore and he wasn’t bleeding, the wound was healed too, but the bullet was still inside and he had no idea how to remove it.

Again, that wasn’t the time to think about that.

At the moment, he could only walk and hope not to find troubles before to arrive in the city.

 

…

 

MARLEY COASTS

 

‘Finally, I arrived in this place forgotten by God’

 

A young man with a short crop of black hair and a pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses arrived near Marley coasts.

Roy was going to reprove him for sure, but he didn’t care. He was determinate to follow any lead that could be helpful to make the Tybur Industries fall once and for all.

Roy didn’t share his determination. He insisted that they should do nothing, that they were lucky enough to be still alive and to live there.

Peaure didn’t share Roy’s definition of freedom. He used to held him in great regard, before they transferred there in Marley.

Everything and everyone changed after what happen in 2090. Roy started living in sloth. He woke up, came to work, read articles, published the ones approved by the government and admonished whoever dared to write something ‘inappropriate’.

Peaure tended to do it a lot, but it was stronger than him. Their people, they needed hope, they needed someone who support them, who was willing to support them, who made them understand that what happen in Paradise, wasn’t their fault. That Tybur had been used them and destroyed their home to hide his sins and guilty.

He needed to pay for his actions.

That was why he was there, with his camera in his hand, even thought his source had informed him that people died four days ago. He got out of his car, surprised that his old girl managed to carry him there. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the money to buy a new one, at least for the moment.

He had parked his car along a secondary path in the wood.

 

“I don’t think someone will stole it, but I need to hide it anyway”

 

The Mansion wasn’t too far, but when he arrived he could barely believed what he saw. The Mansion and the Training center were… well… they were missing. At their place, there was nothing but… nothing, only burnt ground, literally.

There was no doubt that whoever did it, was a professional and meticulous, if he was able enough to reduce in dust both the mansion and the training center in one night.

He took some picture of the scene, yet there was something that didn’t convince him.

The burned area was very extended, but he noticed that there were pits, or something like that on the ground. He came closer to observe one of them better and he noticed that it wasn’t very deep, but surely something heavy had caused it, but what ?

It couldn’t be caused by the fire, in that case, all the ground should have been homogenous, but the ground inside that ditch wasn’t burned, it was normal. He could see some blades of grass, which meant that that ditch was made during, or after the fire. Why someone should wait for the end of the fire to do that ditch ? Who was able to extinguish a fire of that magnitude if all the guests were dead by then ?

Maybe the people who caused the fire were the ones to extinguish it as well ?

But why would they do it ? If they wanted everyone dead…

 

“There’s something here that doesn’t convince me” he muttered.

 

He saw no bodies or limbs, anything like that, that meant that all the bodies were now nothing more ashes and dust. He knew that for cremation, the body was incinerated at the temperature of 760 to 1150 °C, if the fire was able to reduce the mansion and the training center as well, it meant that the temperature was even higher or, more probable, there may had been several explosions at different points.

 

“But this ditch…”

 

He looked up and noticed that the one in front of him wasn’t the only one. There were others. He came closer and he noticed that there was one that had a strange shaped. They were two ditches that crossed each other, forming a sort of V, but it was imperfect and deeper in some point. He couldn’t find any reasonable explanation.

The ditch was deeper on the right side than the left one, why ?

He observed other ditches and when he convinced himself that maybe he was seeing things where they weren’t, he noticed that he was leaving shoe tracks on the ground.

He didn’t know why his shoe tracks caught his attention.

He passed his gaze between it and the V on the ground and it was then that another detail caught his attention. Near the the end of the ditch, there were smaller rounded ditches…

 

“It looks like a foot. A footprint. How could it be possible ?”

 

What kind of beast could have a foot so big ? What looked weirder was that the footprint was similar to a human ones. It was such a funny theory, but a lot of things didn’t make any sense there. The fire, the ground, those ditches…

The mere thought that could exist something so big was frightening. His source didn’t inform him on what had caused the dead of all those people, he simply told him to go there, because am explosion destroyed the Mansion and the Training Center. That was much worse.

Peaure was slowly regretting to have left his gun in the dashboard of his car.

 

“I will check the others. I want to see if my theory is right. If I express my ideas all the world would laugh at me”

 

He observed the closest ditches and he noticed that all of them, more or less, looked exactly like a foot, a human foot. What kind of prank was it ?

Peaure didn’t consider it funny at all.

 

“I don’t know what to do at this point”

 

His instinct was suggesting him to take one more picture and go away from there, as fast as possible. Another side of him, the Eldian betrayed and eager to have answers, was praying him to stay there and investigate more.

Of course that side of him won. He couldn’t leave now, he wanted answers and surely he couldn’t give him sources pictures of footprints and a burned ground. That wasn’t the time to run away, it was the moment to be brave.

 

“I will follow this footprints. They… started from… this point and… most of them disappear in this area…”

 

… But there were a pair of footprints, that were deeper and what caught his attention the most, was that the ground inside it was burned as well. Peaure understood that that pair was different from he others. He started following them.

 

‘I hope I will find some answers’

 

…

 

MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY 14 SEPTEMBER 13:00

 

‘… _The causes of the fire are currently unknown and no one wants to express about the blood found by the police near the gates…’_

 

_“_ It can’t be a coincidence” commented Mike watching the tv with attention.

 

Erwin, Hanji, Moblit, Levi and Mike were watching the news in the big screen in the conference room. Apparently few hours ago another incident happened near the exit of Tybur’s Mansion in Lago city. An explosion destroyed the all the area between the gates and the backyard killing an unknown numbers of staff members who were already curing the garden. Again, a lot of people died and again no one was willing to give any explanation or to expose himself.

 

“I wonder how they intend to make it look this tragedy like an incident this time” commented Hanji.

 

“An attempt of fraud gone wrong” said Moblit.

 

Erwin felt frustrated. He was struggling to understand what was happening in that chaos. He wanted to know if it was caused by someone who had some grudges against the Tybur Industries or if there was Magath behind that incident, to make it look like those incidents were causes by terrorists, like they did back in Paradise. Give the blame to someone else to cover their secrets. If an incident like that happened few weeks ago, Erwin wouldn’t have any doubt that it was caused by some failed experiment, but now…after Tybur’s dead and his last delusional speech… he had no idea where to start to collect his thoughts.

The only way to have some answer was to find Magath and make him talk. He hoped that in base where he was he had no way to see the news.

 

‘ _We have here Miss Yelena Ivanov she’s…’_

 

On the screen, next to the journalist, in front of the entrance of the main building of the facility, appeared a woman with blond hair in bowl cut, large black eyes and androgynous features. It was difficult saying if she was a female or a male. She was wearing a dark blue blazer.

A detail that caught Erwin’s attention was her imperturbability, despite the cause around her. She looked very calm, almost like shedidn’t work in the place where another incident had taken place in. The journalist who was interviewing her had long brown hair, she wore a dark blue jacket and she had pale skin. She was interviewing Miss Ivanov in front of the the main door of the mansion and there where other journalists who were trying to interview her as well.

 

_“Unfortunately, the causes of this tragedy are unknown for us too. I can simply say that we hope the police will find the culprit and that will bring him or them to justice”_

 

_“Miss Ivanov, you’re talking of culprits. Why are you so convinced that this tragedy is caused by some people ? Why couldn’t be caused by some of your research ?”_

 

_“Because we haven’t been having news from Tybur for four days, or from the training center. We sent someone there but no one came back to report anything. We’re afraid. Furthermore, this is a Mansion, not a facility”_

 

“Is she your pawn Erwin ?” Asked Levi, remembering the conversation of few hours ago.

 

He still didn’t have an opinion on Erwin. He didn’t know if he or until what point he approved the other choices. Erwin wasn’t a good man, but it didn’t mean he was a bad man either. In those four days, Levi had the opportunity to know everyone better.

They were valuable people and formidable fighters. He still didn’t trust them completely, but he could admit that it was good staying there. Their company helped him not to remain alone with his thoughts for so long.

During the night it was another thing entirely, his nightmares tormented him every time he closed his eyes and he managed to sleep only three or four hours every night. In his nightmares he was constantly tormented by Izzy’s green lifeless eyes, that were staring right in his soul, begging him to save her, begging him not to forget. Levi didn’t think he could after all.

He didn’t know what happened to Furlan, but he hoped his friend died quickly and without pain and he was glad that he didn’t transform into one of those monsters. In that case, Levi would have been responsible for his death… his actual death.

 

“No, she’s not. She simply anticipated what I was planning to do with my pawn” answered Erwin studying the woman in the tv “I want to know everything about her”

 

“Why ?” Asked Mike “I’ve never seen her before. Surely, she doesn’t occupy a relevant position”

 

“That’s why I want to know everything about her. If Magath contacted them, and I know he did, the last thing he asked them to do is probably to reveal Tybur’s death. If she’s talking about it in tv…” started Erwin.

 

“… It means that they cannot fix the the problem this time…” continued Hanji

 

_“We’re waiting for Tybur’s instructions. This is not the first time one of his propertyis attacked and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I make condolences to the family of the victims…”_

 

“… Or that there is a split between Magath and the Chief researcher in the facility” concluded Levi.

 

“It’s plausible” said Erwin

 

_“Please, Miss Ivanov. What do you think happened to Lord Tybur ?”_

 

_“I’ve no idea. There were many important members for our Industries that disappeared with him. We’re scared and worried. I can say no more because we know nothing. If you’re eager and willing to help us… maybe you can investigate the matter further. Now please, I have to help the others”_

 

Erwin was firmly convinced that, after all those years, all subordinates of the Industries were used to have their asses covered by Tybur’s liars and money, now that he was dead, they had no idea how to deal with his dead and the consequences related to it.

Maybe they got scared that, whoever succeeded in killing Tybur, could try to do the same to them. Or maybe they orchestrated the entire thing to get rid of Tybur and the training center, maybe some of them was tired of being submitted to the training center and the warrior unit. Maybe they wanted to be free of conducting their research and be successful on their own.

Or maybe they had been threatened by the same group that assaulted the training center and the mansion.

Or maybe… or maybe…

Thousands ideas were forming inside his mind, any of them sound reasonable enough to be considered seriously.

 

“Who’s the Chief Researcher of Lago facility ?” Asked Erwin.

 

“Mmm…” Moblit had an Ipad and used it to search for informations “… Doctor Tom Xavier. He’s been working for Tybur Industries for almost twenty years. He joined the research team few years the first prototype of Ymir serum was created”

 

“Where is he ?” Asked Mike “Since he’s responsible for the facility, shouldn’t be the one to be interviewed ?”

 

“Maybe he’s more of a lab rat than a social butterfly” commented Levi. 

 

“Or maybe something bad happened to him. Maybe the same people who killed Tybur, now is responsible for the murderer of the chief researcher of this facility. The question now is why Lago ? It’s not the closest one to the coasts” commented Moblit

 

“I want a list of names of all the people who work in that facility” ordered Erwin “And I want a list of name of scientists who have worked on Ymir serum”

 

“Ehm… everyone ?” Asked Hanji “There’s no person in those facility who is not aware of the serum”

 

“What do you hope to achieve ?” Asked Levi

 

“I want to know why Magath got in contact with that facility and why, one day after the call, that facility is suddenly attacked. I don’t believe in coincidences” answered Erwin “I’ve no doubt that they work on Ymir serum down there”

 

“Yes, but no one knows about the existence of that facility” said Hanji “We fatigued a lot to have a blueprint of it”

 

“Maybe we should focus on what we already know” said Moblit “We know that Magath contacted that facility, who did he talk with ?”

 

“The Chief” answered Levi,

 

“Who’s the Chief of that research ?” Continued the blond.

 

“Xaver” answered Mike.

 

“Did he contact him only because he couldn’t contact other facilities… or because he knew he could trust Xaver the most. If this is the case, why ?”

 

Erwin saw nothing wrong in the argument. Tom Xavier wasn’t a notorious man, he didn’t attend ofter at the events organized by Lord Tybur and since he’d started working for the Tybur, he didn’t appear often in public. He was a very private person, specially after the homicide-suicide of his wife and son, happened fourteen years ago.

The motives that pushed his wife to commit that terrible act were still unknown. Tom simply told the police that his wife was depressed.

After then, he practically applied for a position as a scientist in the facility and then he rarely got out of it.

 

_…_

 

ONE HOUR LATER…

 

‘The footprints end here’ thought Peaure.

There was only one pair of footprints remained, the peculiar one, where the ground was burned inside the ditches.

 

“I’m close… but I’ve no idea where to go from there” he sighed.

 

He started walking again. If Erwin’s informations were right, there had to be a facility around there, an underground facility, but the man warned him to get too close to that place.

Peaure had no idea if he was already too much close, he had no idea where the facility was or how to recognize it. All he knew was that he was wondering like an imbecile in a wood where he didn’t know how to orientate himself.

He hoped he would be able to find the way back to his car.

He almost lost hope when heard something…

 

“AHHHHHHHH !!”

 

He jumped. Someone screamed and he froze where he was. He kept his breath and started shivering. In his profession was to be expected to find himself in dangerous situation, but it was the first time he was alone, in a wood he didn’t know, where only four days ago a carnage happened and the culprit was still free. Furthermore, he risked to be captured by a group of terrorists that kidnapped people to use them as guinea pig. They could kidnap him or kill him, or worse…

He was allowed to be scared.

He started running, without thinking where he was going, which was pretty stupid but he was in panic. All he wanted was to be safe.

He wasn’t looking where he put his feet, or he wouldn’t have tripped over something and fallen with his face on the ground. During the fall, his glasses slipped from his nose.

 

‘Shit’ he thought.

 

The last thing he needed was to lose his glasses. He saw nothing without them, so he needed to find them quickly. He started crawling, moving his hands frantically. He started sweating and his hands were trembling. He appealed to all his self control not to burst in tears like an infant. He kept searching until his hands grabbed something. Something heavier than his glasses and… they stank and… flabby…

He let it fell on the ground again but then he noticed that his hands were dirty. He observed them and then he realized that what he was smelling was… blood… and that his hands were red and that the things he was holding was a ripped forearm.

He covered his mouth with his forearm not to scream.

The blood on his hands was fresh, which meant that that person was killed recently and the killer was still out there killing other people.

What was happening ? Someone found the underground facility where the few survivors of the fire were hiding and now he or she, or them… was or were finishing their job.

He couldn’t be sure of it, he could only hope to find his glasses soon enough to run away from that place.

 

“AAHHHHHH !”

 

He jumped again when he heard another scream and he bite his forearm not to scream. He took a deep breath and started searching for his glasses until he found them. Quickly he wore them, then he stood up and started running. A few meters he found another body, ripped in two. He could see the vertebral column and several bone fragments on the lawn, of course it smelled too.

Something liquid fell on his cheek. He touched it with his finger and realized with horror that it was blood.He looked up and he saw another body, that time the scene was even uglier.

It looked like the body had been ripped in half, vertically, up to the waist. There was no head anymore and some organs were out, on the legs.

 

“This is so much worse than a film horror” he whispered “What kind of beast can do something like that ?”

 

It wasn’t appropriate, but he took some pictures of the two dead men. Then he took another deep breath. He needed to remain calm and think rationally. If he went the wrong way, he could ended up killed by the same person who committed the other crimes. He started walking, trying not to make any sound and to remain calm.

There was a surreal silence around him that agitated him even more. He went in the opposite direction of the bodies and he didn’t dare to turn around even once.

If the bodies were there, it meant that the underground facility was nearby too, but if the culprit found it, surely had to move on, in search of the entrance. Peaure wasn’t brave enough to enter in the wolf’s lair to prove that theory.

He didn’t know how long he ran, before he managed to get out from the wood. Unfortunately, he could never run fast enough before an explosion happened somewhere behind him. The ground started trembling, he remembered to fall on the ground and…

Maybe it was a dream… maybe it wasn’t… the last thing he remembered was a monster…

 

…

 

LAGO CITY CENTER 14:15

 

‘So this is how a city looks like’ E2 thought.

 

He had no words to describe how he was feeling. Sublime… maybe…

He was surrounded by so many people and he had finally the opportunity to see with his own eyes what people did when they went to bars, or the famous shop windows where pretty things were exposed. All things he only saw in pictures or through Tom’s memories. When he closed his eyes, he could smell thousand different perfumes, some where sweet, other more delicate, other strong. The building around him, so high, imposing, elegant. He was sure that the people who lived there had to be rich. Tom once told him that the richest people always occupied the highest position of everything, because there were people who had the right to see the other down below from their greatness.

E2 thought that maybe he was beginning to understand what he meant back then. From that height, he was sure that the people could admire and observe the entire city. Like a Titan.

From that height, everyone looked like ants. E2 at least felt that way. He noted that the walls of those buildings looked more like windows and in his ignorance he didn’t understand why. Wasn’t the glass too fragile to protect the sanctity of someone house ?

 

‘So many things, there are so many things I don’t know of this world’

 

He didn’t know why the cars were so different even thought they had the same function. Did they change accordingly to their color or size ? Why didn’t the building have the same height ? It was because in some building lived people more important than in the others ?

Why the windows ? Why didn’t they want to hide from the world ?

He looked up and saw the sky… He could barely see it from there, he couldn’t see the birds or hear them, he could barely see the sun and that made him feel claustrophobic.

Where was the sun ? Where was the sky ? How could people push him regardless, without even apologize ? Like he was transparent, like he didn’t exist.

 

‘I’m here, why are they pushing me ?’

 

He was looking at the world with tears in his life, comforted that the people around him probably weren’t looking at him. He arrived in Lago ten minutes ago and it wasn’t easy arrive there due to the traffic jam. Those moving things, cars and trucks scared him a little bit. Actually, everything around him scared him to death.

Was that freedom ? Fear ?

He didn’t imagine that the first time he’d seen the world could be so overwhelming.

His legs were trembling, his back was bent, his head was bent and his eyes dared not to look up, at people.

He looked up once and he thought that the sky shouldn’t be so high, shouldn’t be so unattainable. It was beautiful, but he couldn’t reach it and he knew that if he didn’t stop to look at it, he would burst in tears. He didn’t want to stay there, he didn’t feel safe there, he feel so isolated from the other people.

The more he looked at them, the more he noticed how much different he was from the rest of the world.

All the people around him wore the clothes they wanted, knew where they came from and where they had to go. When they looked at the mirror they knew exactly who they were, the name of their family, their own name.

His clothes were grey, anonymous. He didn’t know where he had to go, he didn’t know the path he had to follow.

 

‘Where I have to go ?’

 

_“Tom wasn’t allowed to have files about you nowhere near the Mansion. So Lord Tybur allowed him to have them in his old apartment, where his wife committed suicide with his son’_

 

‘Why do I have to go there ?’

 

_‘Because we need to find those files and destroy them. No one has to know about our existence’_

 

‘Do we exist ? Do I exist ?’

 

E2 started doubting about his own existence. Why no one had to know he existed ? If he destroyed those files, it would be like destroying his own past, denying his own existence. It would be so tragic if he wanted to exist for someone ?

He looked around, at the people around him.

He didn’t imagine that so many people could exist. So different, yet so similar altogether. They were so beautiful.

Pale skin, suntanned skin, dark skin…

Blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes…

Tall, short, fat, slim…

Even their way of walking was different. Some walked with more confidence, other slowly, other quickly.

So different… so unique…

With a past, a present and a future and with a place in the world.

 

‘I don’t want to stay here’

 

‘ _In fact you need to arrive at Tom’s apartment’_

 

_‘_ No… I don’t want stay here… in this world…’

 

He just realized he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and that he was crying. He didn’t want to be surrounded by people, he didn’t want to hear their thoughts in his head, yet he felt all of them.

He felt the thoughts of wife worried about the possibility of his husband’s infidelity.

He felt the thoughts of a boy nervous because he was picking the ring to propose to his girlfriend.

He felt the thoughts of a young boy who was worried for a bad grade at school.

He felt the thoughts of a young girl who was worried about the constant fights between her parents.

Thoughts, thoughts and thoughts

Thoughts about love. Obsession for an unrequited love. About a forbidden love.

Thoughts about family. Of a mother, a father and their children.

Thoughts of a young woman in career.

Thought of a man who was going to get his degree.

Thoughts of so many people, with so many faces, with a life, friends, families… no one of that belonged to him.

Because he was no one, because for them he didn’t exist, because he didn’t belong there. He closed his eyes and wished to be in the desert, where he could feel the sand under his feet and where the sky was so close that he could almost reach it. There he was alone, but he also felt safe and protected.

The loneliness he was feeling now, it was suffocating him. It was a loneliness he didn’t know. He didn’t understand.

 

‘ _Or maybe they don’t belong there. Compose yourself. We need to go somewhere’_

 

_‘_ I don’t want to’

 

‘ _We don’t need silly documents to prove our existence. The entire world will learn about us very soon, I promise’_

 

‘I feel so alone here’

 

He thought he knew what solitude was. He spent so much time alone, without speaking with people and he usually only spoke with Tom. The conversations with the nurses were unidirectional, since they loved more gossiping about people he didn’t know. He suddenly missed them. He felt lonely, but at least the nurses were kind with him and didn’t pretend he wasn’t there with her in the room. Sometime they even left candies to him. The doctors and the scientists on the other hand knew how to be cruel. But Tom… Tom… he should be there with him right now. He should be there wit him… he should be… there… with…

He was so afraid…

 

“Get out of my way” said to him a man that pushed him aside.

 

He accidentally bumped into another person.

  
“Don’t you see you idiot ? Be more careful”

 

He started running. He started running and he felt his face burning. Everyone there was so rude and maybe he was paranoid, but he felt like all of them knew that he wasn’t supposed to be there, that he didn’t belong to that world, that he was different. He was an aborted… that he was unwanted. A face without name, a human without shape, a boy with a borrowed name… he was nothing and no one. 

 

_‘And so we can become anything and be anyone’_

 

‘I’m so scared’

 

He turned on the left and enter into a dark road, where he felt a strong smell coming from the rubbish bins. He sat on the street, uncaring about the dirty. No virus or bacterium could have killed him. He’d never had even a flu in his entire life. One of the few positive things in his life, yet another reminding that he was different from anyone, that he wasn’t normal and that he was a mere result of an eugenic experiment.

What if someone had seen him ? What if some of the people whom pumped into him worked for the Tybur ? What if someone tried to kill him ? What if someone ask things about him ?What if…

What if…

He couldn’t breath, he had headache and he was sweating. That was not good. Every time he started sweating, his body gave off heat, with the risk of melting or burning what surround d him. E2 didn’t want to imagine what consequences would he face in case someone saw him that way.

 

_‘I’m here, don’t be afraid.’_

 

‘I don’t know where to go’

 

_‘I do and I will take you there. I promise’_

 

‘Do you ?’

 

E2 would have given everything to have Eren there with him, or Tom. He was aware to be completely ignorant of the world, but again he doubted that Eren knew more than him. Eren had a better control over their powers, so he could easily use his powers to see through Tom’s memories where his old apartment was.

E2 was a little bit scared of what Eren could make him do. He didn’t want to hurt Tom, yet Eren found his way inside his head so easily and then he hurt Tom. He betrayed him. He betrayed him…

“Why ?” He said aloud grabbing his hair with his hands “Why did you make me do it ? Why ?”

 

_‘I’m you, you’re me. We’re one. I protect you and you protect me’_

 

‘Tom’d never hurt me’

 

_‘Let’s go, we have no time to waste’_

 

He felt the buzz inside his head again. He grabbed his head and bite his lower lip. It was happening again. Eren was trying to control him again, he wanted him to stand up and come back walking along with strangers people, who smelled weird and had all those thoughts. He didn’t want. He wanted to stay there, in the dark, where no one could see him, where he could still pretend that a world out there didn’t exist. He felt dizzy and the buzz inside his head quickly turned into real pain. He gritted his teeth not to scream and moved his legs , trying to ignore the pain but he knew he wouldn’t last longer. He was still too weak compared to Eren.

 

_‘It’s not about power… it’s about self awareness, I know who I am and who I am not. I know what I have to do and I have the power to achieve it. You don’t know who you are, I will tell you but you need to trust me’_

 

Could he ? E2 was convinced that there was nothing he could desire more than freedom, but now that he was free of his cage, he was tempted to come back in his cage, where he knew exactly who he was, what he was, who he was dealing with and what he had to do. Freedom now looked so much like prison.

He had those powers he couldn’t control and someone who could control them in his place and use them to make him do terrible things.

Yet Eren was everything he had…

He touched his cheeks and dry his tears. Cry wouldn’t help him to solve his problems. He couldn’t fight against Eren and until he was the weakest of the two, he would be better obey him without putting much resistance. He stood up and adjusted his clothes.

He wasn’t free yet, he was still controlled by Eren butone day… one day he would be free.

 

‘Where do I have to go ?’

 

…

 

 

They were still in the conference room when Erwin’s phone rang. He grabbed and checked who was calling him. It was Peaure. He quickly opened the call. If Peaure found out something important, he wanted to know it as soon as possible. He opened the call and wait for the other to speak first. It was the procedure. Peaure knew he couldn’t register the number with his name and he always had to identify himself first, so that Erwin was sure he was speaking with him. If someone was obliging Peaure to speak with him, Peaure had to pronounce one specifically word and then Erwin would have to know how to fix the situation.

He waited for some minute but no one was speaking to him.

 

_“I should have expected… well, whoever I’m speaking with I want to tell you that our man was involved into an incident. He’s still alive, but his wounds need to be taken care of. Do I need to describe them to you ?”_

 

 

Erwin furrowed. What happened to Peaure ? Who was the person he was walking with ? From the voice, he could say for sure that his interlocutor was a young man, not younger than twenties. What was he doing there ? Did he know that Peaure was there to take proves for him ?

He looked around and he saw that the other were looking at him confused. With the only exception of Levi, the others had no idea that he sent someone there to investigate.

 

“I’m not going to waste our time. I know you won’t tell me your name if I ask. I only want a proof that my man is okay and that I can trust you”

 

_“Trusting is so difficult in these uncertain times”_

 

Erwin replied nothing. He wasn’t interest in chit chats. He was already taking a big risk by continuing the conversation with tombstone he didn’t know. He knew that the other person could try to trace back his position through the telephone line.

He wasn’t worried about the eventuality that Peaure could betray him. Peaure didn’t know their base was and Erwin was always very cautious before to get in contact with him and he was careful not to meet Peaure personally, only through other people he knew he could trust. He was also sure that Peaure didn’t save the number with his name.

 

“How did you know Peaure works for me ?” He asked.

 

_“Why don’t you ask this to him ? Hi Peaure, speak with you friend”_

 

‘Shit’ Erwin thought. What else did Peaure reveal to that person ? What did he do tho him ?

 

_“I’m sorry, Commander Smith. I was caught by surprise. I lost my senses and when I came around… he was already pointing a gun against me. He shot me in the leg”_

 

Erwin sighed. He was relief that Peaure was okay.

 

_“Now that you know that you’re little friend here is okay, I need to talk with you personally”_

 

“I don’t think so. I’m not so stupid, a lot of people want me dead.”

 

_“I know that you’re the kind of man who’s not afraid of making sacrifices for a greater good, I don’t know a lot about you but I do know the essential. Here’s the deal. I’m going to tell you my name, I’m going to confess you that we’ve been friends for longer that you think”_

 

Erwin furrowed. What was that boy trying to achieve ? Why would he reveal his real name to an enemy ? Because they were enemies, right ? He rarely trusted his instinct, usually preferred taking his decisions basing on rationality and precision. That thing was he couldn’t risk to leave Peaure in the hand of an enemy. Peaure said that the other had already shot him in the leg, what if he tortured him to get more informations ?

What did he mean when he say that they were already friends ?

Then an idea started forming inside his mind.

 

“You’re… you’re the one who was sending me those files”

 

_“So it’s true. You’re very smart, as people say. I like it. The first file I sent you, I sent you a list of names who worked in the Training Center. I was included, but of course I couldn’t reveal my identity then. I firmed thought. Taran Milertr”_

 

“Let me guess, it is an anagram”

 

He sounded too pleased and the same should be thinking the other people in the room, but it was the first time that someone managed to surprise him, specially when it come to intelligence and mind games. Erwin was a mastermind, but the person he was talking with wasn’t any less and the blond was having fun.

 

_“Exactly, check in the first list I sent to you. I’m in that list. Now, would indulge into a little game with me ?”_

 

“A game ?”

 

_“It wasn’t easy find a way to contact you, but in the end I managed. It won’t be difficult find your current location. I wonder who between you and me will find the other first. Me your location ? Or You my name ? Accept the challenge ?”_

 

Erwin had to admit the other had a point. If the other had been so capable to hacker his system and find a way to contact him, he would surely find quickly his location and Erwin changed his base almost every week. It could be paranoid, but he needed to feel protected. The only thing he’d never changed was his email, since he received the first file.

He had no idea how ‘Taran Milertr’ succeeded in founding his email address.

He crossed for a moment his eyes with Levi’s, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Erwin was suddenly curious to know what kind of expression he was showing off. He had to admit that he was feeling… intrigued, because it was the first time someone challenge him on an intellectual level.

 

“I do. May the best man wins”

 

He closed the call and, ignoring all the other who were looking at him like he suddenly developed a second head he took his leave politely “I need to return to my office. Please don’t hesitate to update me in case you find out something important about Tom Xavier”

 

He went out the conference room and closed the door behind. Few seconds later, the door got opened again and Levi went out, following him.

Erwin smirked. He knew that the raven hair man would have followed him. Levi knew about his plan and surely suspected that the person who just called him was him, or at least he realized that something strange happen.

 

“Who called you ?”

 

“No idea. All I do know is that this person wants to be found and wants to find me. I gave to find him first”

 

“And what did this person tell you about your man ?”

 

“That he shot him in the leg, but he’s okay”

 

“What ?”

 

Levi was astonished. How could Erwin remain so calm and collected when someone had just told him that one of his man, who probably knew important things about him, was captured and shot ? Levi was more and more convinced that Erwin Smith was a monster. He had to be. If Isabel or Furlan were the one in danger, he wouldn’t have managed to remain so composed. He would have acted reckless and probably only aggravating things.

Levi was strong only when he was with them, he was confident because he knew they had his back. He knew he could count on them and he knew they cared for him.

Erwin seemed not to care for anyone, not even himself. Any man would be agitated, knowing that someone out there was looking for them and was so close to actually find them, but not him. He seemed almost entertained by the idea. That someone was pointing his gun at him.

He remembered when he pointed his gun at the man, Erwin wasn’t scared of him, not because he doubted that Levi was capable of killing him, more because he knew that, despite he was at disadvantage, he knew he could find a way to make it out alive. Kinda scaring.

A man who wasn’t afraid to die… A man who wasn’t afraid of letting people to die for him. Like his colleagues were nothing more than pieces he could move at his pleasure. Like he knew that, deep down, everyone in the world had to count on themselves above everyone else.

They arrived in his office and Erwin saw behind his desk and he turned on his laptop.

 

“How do you plan to find him ?”

 

“He was the one who’s been sending me the files about Tyburs. The first file consisted into a list of names. His name is in that list”

“How would you understand ?”

 

“From an anagram. Taran Milertr”

 

Levi wrote the name on the board with a marker. Then he wrote under it the letters.

T A R A N M I L E R T R

 

“So, we have to solve this riddle” concluded Levi.

 

“Exactly” said Erwin opening the first file he received.

 

“Once you learn his name, what are you planning to do ?”

 

‘I will capture him’ thought Erwin without voicing it. Internally, he maybe was feeling too exited, like child on Christmas Day. Just when he almost lost his hope to capture Magath and to reveal all the secrets he knew about Tybur to the entire world, something interesting happened. He didn’t trust that person and surely he had no intention of being reckless.

He couldn’t commit any mistake, not when he was so close to finally know the complete truth about the eugenic experiment. He was sure that there was more than what he read in the those documents. 

He believed that there were more, that there was something darker behind those experiments. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened when Levi killed those monsters. Surely something extraordinary happened to Levi but… there was something else. Something else happened that night, something else was pulling the strings of their fate. Something that permitted Levi to fight and survive. It was only a theory, but something suggested him he was right.

 

…

 

_Erwin Smith was a soldier to the core. Conscious that he constantly walked hand in hand with the death, but that was the life he chose. The life he would always chose, because he couldn’t imagine no other way to spend his life. It was the only way he knew, the only way he could deal with the darkness inside him._

_He felt less day after day. He lost completely interest in everything, in any possible hedonic pleasure. Life was meaningless for him, because he didn’t know it. Because he didn’t know the truth. What was the point of living into a world he couldn’t understand ? A world that took away from him his identity ?_

_A man who knew nothing, a man who didn’t know the answers to his questions, was nothing._

_Truth was fundamental, it was a stronghold that permitted humans to know what the world was, the they were, what was something and what was not._

_How many people had killed in the name of truth ?_

_How many people had lost their mind ? To learn the truth about the world ? He would never knew if the Big Bang Theory was correct or not, but he wanted to know if what happened to him, to his homeland, to his family, to his own world… was worthy all darkness._

_Ignorance was a fake safety,_

_Without it… humans were blind. Erwin didn’t want to die a blind man, but he saw no escape that time._

_He was ready to die ignorant, when he saw Levi in front of him. The raven hair boy suddenly stood up and instead of running away, he was walking right toward those monsters._

_‘He wants to die’ he thought, but then he realized that there was something different about him. The way he moved, the way he walked, the way he disarmed a soldier to steal his equipment… the way he attacked and killed the first monster…_

_He was incredible, it looked like he knew exactly what to do, how to use that equipment, how to kill those monsters…_

_It was then that he also noticed another thing about those monsters. Something pretty weird. It was like the monsters didn’t pay any attention to Levi, it was like they were more interested in killing the soldiers and when Levi was close to them… He didn’t know how to explain, it was like they knew he was there to kill them and they have to simply surrender._

_Maybe he was simply imagining things but… but…_

_He looked in front of him and saw something moving behind those monsters, he saw it only for few seconds, a shadow, a shape, but he knew it was there. He had the feeling that someone was observing the entire scene too…_

 

_…_

 

Erwin had been thinking and examining what he remembered about that night since he recovered. He didn’t want to push, not while he was still trying to build some sort of relationship with Levi, one based on trust, but he really wanted to know what happened to him that night. What was triggered inside Levi and what was controlling those titans. Because even if they came close to Levi, no one of them tried so hard to eat him or kill him. When they had to choose between him or another soldier, they always picked the soldier. Like they knew who was the enemy and who wasn’t.

He was so close… all he had to do was to find that name…

 

“Armin… Arlert…. Found him” he exclaimed exited.

 

…

 

_'I want to know the truth about his world !! Let me go !!!’_

 

_A boy, a teenager, was sitting on a bed with white sheets, with the back on the wall, the arms abandoned along his hips and the legs stretched out his bed. He looked more like a lifeless doll, a beautiful doll, perfect in any way. His eyes were so dark that someone could see it the death itself through them. The boy barely move and he breathed slowly, very slowly. He looked so dead._

_Only inside his head he was screaming. He was trying to rebelling to his life, but he couldn’t. His body refused to cooperate. Or maybe he didn’t really want to run away._

_He hadn’t touched the food that was taken to him. The lunch. If he remembered correctly. Why didn’t he eat it ? Because he couldn’t taste the food._

_There was an orange liquid, on the tray, the nurses called it orange juice. He didn’t drink it. Why didn’t he drink it ? Because he couldn’t taste the orange juice._

_Why couldn’t he taste them ? He had no idea. All he knew was that he could drink water or that liquid and he wouldn’t know to say if they were different._

_If he tasted meat orfish, he wouldn’t know to say which he preferred between the two._

_Why was that ? He didn’t know._

_He looked at his toys and books on the other side of the room. They weren’t much, but he wouldn’t want more of them. Why ? Because he didn’t feel attack to any of them._

_Sometimes he wished to be able to grab them and destroy them, to reduce them in thousands pieces. He wished to put all of them in life, like ants, and crush them._

_Why did he have those thoughts ? He knew it. Because those useless things were only a waste of space. There was only one thing he wouldn’t destroy, a puzzle, with the sea._

_He kept it under the bed. It was the only thing he cared in that room and yet there were days when he wished to destroy it as well._

_The truth was that it was hunger… that… monster… inside him… was very hungry. That monster, that had his same eyes, only bigger. That monster that had his same hair, only longer. That monster that was him… only stronger…_

_That monster that wanted to be free. That monster that wanted to see the sea. That monster that wished nothing more than put his enemy in line and crush them like ants. That monster that was offering him the only things he wanted… freedom._

_He heard the door opening, he wished he could escape but they drugged him, he couldn’t move. He had to stay there._

 

_“Are you sure he’s sedated ?” Asked a scientist whose name he didn’t know._

 

_A man with the white coat entered followed by his assistant. A woman with dark hair._

 

_“You have ten minutes to take the samples.”_

 

_“He didn’t eat anything. I wonder if he can’t feel hunger or if it’s only an act of rebellion” commented the scientist._

 

_“We already know that the can survive without eating” said the woman, raising the sleeve of his shirt to put the tourniquet._

 

_“But we don’t know if he could survive without sustenance forever. If he continues to fast, then we need to find a way to make him eat”_

 

_The woman nodded. He didn’t recognize her. She had to be new. She was pretty clumsy with eh tourniquet and she avoided looking at his face. It was obvious he wasn’t making her feel at ease. He didn’t care._

 

_“What’s his name ?” She asked shyly._

 

_“He has no name. You can call him E1, or Eren, but it’s not like you’re going to interact with him so often. You can avoid this silly questions” answered the man with harsh._

 

_“Why did you say that he has no name if you just called him Eren ?” Asked the girl._

 

_‘Why do you insist ?’ Thought the boy._

 

_“Eren is not his name. It’s the name of the project that regard the nucleus. Lord Tybur is paranoid, so this project doesn’t appear on the database of our system. That’s why we have to handwriting out reports. Anyway when he have to communicate with the other facilities about the nucleus, we use to talk about Eren Krueger. It’s only a code”_

 

_“Ah” said the woman putting the needle in the arm of the boy “Now I understand, sorry for asking. I simply thought it was weird, for him not to have a name”_

 

_“Why should he need it anyway ? He was born, he lives and will rot here. He has no name, he’s not registered anywhere, no one knows about his existence. When we will finally find a way to replicate the nucleus we will get rid of him and no one will know. That boy is no one, he doesn’t belong to this world, he has no identity.”_

 

_‘It’s sad’ that was what the woman thought in that moment._

_If the boy could, he would have rolled his eyes. Everyone thought that his condition was sad, a nameless boy that would never see the sun rise, yet no one of them tried to help him. They only stayed there, with their needles and their superiority. Convinced that that ridiculous white coat gave them the right to use him, to experiment on him._

_They repeated over and over again that he was no one, until they actually believed, until the boy himself believed it._

_There was actually a world out there for him ? There was someone, out there, who wanted him ? Who was waiting for him ? Someone who would love him ? Who would love the monster he carried with him as well ?_

_The monster that he saw, every time he closed the eyes, the monster he walked hand in hand. There was someone out there who knew his real name, whom can tell him the truth about himself ? He tried so hard to find out the truth inside the minds of the scientists around him, but no one of them knew the truth. Lord Tybur told all of them a different version of the story._

_Which one was the truth ? Would he ever know ? Would he ever be free ? Would he ever have someone special ? Even if there was, would he be able to recognize it ? Would he be able to resist before it was too late ? Before he would be no longer able to distinguish himself from his monstrous ?_

 

 

 

_…_

 

‘I felt the same’ E2 thought, when the buzz inside his head ceased. He didn’t even realized he arrived in front of the door of Tom’s apartment. He tried to opened the door but it was closed, so he kicked it and quickly closed it behind. The room was poorly lit due to the curtains. He was in a living room, where at the center of the floor there was a large carpet with floral pattern, on its left there was a sofa, on its right there was a tvand at the center a coffee table with an ashtray on. The first thing that caught E2’ attention was missing of personal items, photographs, souvenirs and things like that.

The second thing that caught his attention was the dust. Tom hadn’t come there in a long time, or maybe when he came there he didn’t disturb in cleaning.

On the left side there was a table with the chair and an empty vase in it, and he could catch a glimpse of the kitchen. There was a second door next to the one of the kitchen. He came there an opened it. There was a corridor with three door on the right and one at the end. He opened the first and saw that it was a bedroom. It was dark but he could see well anyway. It was obvious that no one had been been in that room in a long time, but what caught his attention more were the toys scattered on the floor. No one distributed to put in order that room. He entered, pushed by curiosity and turned the light on.

 

“What… what…” he muttered.

 

There was a huge blood stain on the carpet near the bed, where all the toys were scattered. The blood stain was old. Tom didn’t clean the blood of his son from it. Because that was the bedroom of his one son. The one his wife killed before committing suicide. E2 turned off the light immediately. He was feeling like an intruder there, well, he was an intruder but still, he didn’t want to invade Tom’s son personal space, not matter if the latter was dead.

He wasn’t there for that. He wasn’t there to learn Tom’s past, but to erase his own. Because Eren told him to do it. Because he had no choice but to obey, at least for now.

He closed the door and started walking again.

 

_‘His wife didn’t kill his son because she was mad or insane. She was perfectly lucid when she committed the crime’_

 

Despite what his best judgment was suggesting to him, E2 responded to Eren ‘Why should she kill her own son ?’

 

E2 didn’t believe it could be truth. A mother was supposed to love and defend her children, despite everything, even against their father. A mother shouldn’t care if her child was ugly, stupid, problematic, with psychological problem or different in any way. She was supposed to welcome him or her with open arms. That was what a mother did.

E2 couldn’t imagine that a mother, who waited for nine months to have her babies in the arms, could kill her own child. Blood of her blood. Flesh of her flesh. Someone who possessed the name she chose for them.

 

_‘Yet she killed him. Tom was a workaholic and she was started feeling ignored. So one night, she cleaned up, she wore the most beautiful dress she had and she went out. There she met someone…’_

 

E2 wasn’t understanding where Eren was trying to direct him, but he didn’t like it. So, Tom was a workaholic, what was wrong in that ? Tom told him that work was necessary for a man, to provide for his family, to be allowed to buy his wife nice clothes and cherish her with pretty presents; to buy nice clothes and toys for his children.

A good job ensured stability among the family, that was Tom told him.

E2 never put that in discussion, if Tom told him so, he had no reason not to believe it. Tom was a good man, she had nothing to reprove him.

 

_‘Don’t judge so quickly. She felt alone and abandoned. Like you.’_

 

‘She had her son’

 

_‘She wanted her husband’s love too. Would you blame her ?’_

 

E2 started walking again. He refused to play Eren’s game, to change his opinion on Tom.

Tom was a responsible man who wanted the best for her family, there was nothing wrong with that. Tom wanted his wife and son happy and his wife had his son. How could Eren compare his loneliness with Mrs Xavier’s ? They had nothing in common.

If she wanted Tom with her, she should have called him. E2 had no one, a part from Eren, who recently seemed determinate to control him and make him lose his mind.

E2 had no one to call, no one who provided for him if not for scientific reasons, no one who could come back to him.

He was alone. Completely and utterly alone. He opened the second door and he saw another bedroom. That was the one where Tom and Mrs Xavier used to sleep together. He closed it immediately.

 

‘ _You don’t offend anyone if you enter. Beside, I was telling you a story’_

 

‘I don’t want to know it’

 

_‘You should. As I was saying, she went out and she met a man that night. A mysterious man. He approached her, he listened her… he…_

 

_…_

 

_LAGO CITY 2085…_

 

_Charlotte Xaver regretted to have left her son alone in her house and to have put a foot inside that pub as soon as she asked for her drink._

_She wasn’t feeling at easy, and it wasn’t because of her elegant new Versace dress, or her make up that emphasized her delicate features, or her dark loose hair, gathered to one side with a clip._

_Her brown eyes were restless, like she knew that she should come back home as soon as possible. She was being childish, she knew it, but she hadn’t seen Tom in two weeks and she was starting thinking if she was actually married to someone. Her son was home, she told him to sleep, she also told him to call her if something strange happened and that she would come back in two hours. She simply needed some time for herself._

 

_“A drink of whisky please” she told the bartender, not missing to notice the appreciative look he sent her way._

 

_Charlotte was a pretty woman, pretty enough to catch the attention of few men in the local. In spite of what she originally believed, those looks didn’t make her feel desirable, only dirty._

_She regretted to have taken off her ring and she was actually bored to be there. She thanked the bartender for the drink._

_She took a sip, trying to hide the disgust on her face. Tom loved drinking whisky when he was in the mood for fun, she despised drinking those king of stuff. She wasn’t the type._

 

_“I gather that you don’t appreciate a good whisky. What a pity”_

 

_A man sat next to her but Charlotte barely payed him attention. She wasn’t in the mood and she was still married. She wasn’t there to flirt, she was there because she wanted some time for herself, to feel like someone of her age, to feel young and feminine._

 

_“Can I offer you another drink ?” Continued the man, not catching the sign._

 

_“No need. I can pay my drink” she commented, stubbornly looking her drink._

 

_“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything. I was simply trying to start a conversation with a pretty woman who seem to want to be elsewhere but here”  
_

_“Is so evident ?” Asked Charlotte taking another sip of her drink._

 

_Charlotte regretted her decision to be there more and more, specially if the other could easily guess that she was uncomfortable and above all miserable. It was the first time after a long time she went out on her own and definitely she hadn’t gone out without Tom at her side since their wedding._

 

_“Only for an observant. Someone else could simply say you’re bored to death because no one’s entertaining you”_

 

_“Does a woman need a man to entertain herself ?” Asked Charlotte looking at the other man for the first time._

 

_She was surprised. The man sat next to her was handsome. He had dark blond hair, a short beard styled as a goatee, a pronounced jawline and dark eyes. He also looked pretty familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she saw him._

 

_“No, of course not. But I’d be glad to converse with you, while you’re still here”_

 

_“Why not ? What do you want to talk about ?”_

 

_“Why do you look so lonely ? For example”_

 

_Charlotte furrowed and then exclaimed “I don’t want to talk about my business, thank you”_

 

_She finished her drink and then ordered another drink of whisky. She looked at the man. He was smiling, like he was dealing more with a child’s tantrum than an adult woman._

 

_“Then I won’t ask you anything. I will guess”_

 

_“Good luck” she muttered._

 

_“You’re here because you was feeling lonely and bored. The moment you entered here you realized the mistake you made. Nothing here catches your interest because you know that, whatever you want, you won’t find it here”_

 

_“I didn’t come here to be psychoanalyzed” replied Charlotte firmly._

 

_“No, you come here because you want to spend a good evening without thinking about the man you want at your side, the man who’s too busy to be here with you. You want him here with you. You want him with you at home. But he wasn’t there and you’re tired of an empty apartment.”_

 

_“How did you know I’m with someone already ?” Asked Charlotte._

 

_“You’re no the first person who comes here, to fill the void, to fill the silence of their house. To feel the warm of another person. I’m surprised you’re so respectful that you’re not hitting on someone only to spite your partner”_

 

_Because Charlotte already knew that her Tom was one of his kind. He was kind, sometimes he could be curious, like a baby who saw the world for the first time. He was intelligent and very erudite, differently from her. Yet, he loved talking with her about everything, Charlotte loved talking with him, spending time with him._

_When he asked her to marry him she had no hesitation. She couldn’t imagine that Tom could be so devoted to his job, at the point to completely neglect his own family._

_Every woman would want a responsible man, who proved to be capable to provide for his family, but any wife would be also very appreciative if her husband showed his face from time to time, only to let them know he was still alive._

 

_“I don’t wan to cheat on my husband. I want simply feel less alone. I thought that if I wore a nice dress and went into a place full of people… the voices, the sounds… I don’t know… I hoped to feel less alone”_

 

_“But being here isn’t helping you. It’s such a contradiction, how a crowd place can make you feel alone, specially when you crave for someone you know you won’t find here or home”_

 

_“I can only hope it won’t be always like this. My husband and I will find a way to make things better”_

 

_“Why should you wait for him ? He’s not making you happy. He’s creating a void inside you, why should you remain with him?”_

 

_Charlotte drank all his whisky and then she ordered another drink. She didn’t like what the other was implying. She didn’t regret his decision to marry Tom and she was sincerely convinced that it was only a period. That someday things would be better between them, that they would spend more time together, like they used to._

 

_“He’s my husband”_

 

_“Etiquettes means nothing. You must think the same if you took off your ring. A marriage is nothing more than a signature of an economic contract between two people. Both the parts swear to ensure economic stability in change of love and devotion. And an offspring. If something goes wrong, divorce fix everything”_

 

_“That’s pretty cynical and I don’t share your opinion on weddings”_

 

_“I’m not telling you to agree with me, I’m telling you to be open minded and consider it”_

 

_“I don’t think so. I’ve a son. I want him to understand the importance of being connected emotionally with someone”_

 

_“For that a wedding isn’t necessary. If you have a son, then you shouldn’t worry about him. He already knows that he’s not wanted”_

 

_“What do you mean ?” Asked Charlotte surprised and maybe scared._

 

_The man she was talking with was very blunt, and cynical and suddenly something about him made her feel uncomfortable. The way he was looking at her, like he was studying every single reaction, like he was studying the best way to take her by surprise to destroy her. Maybe she talked too much due to the whiskey. She didn’t drink often and when she did she got drunk easily. She should come back home, she wanted to. She wanted to come back home to her baby._

 

_“I want to go home”_

 

_“You shouldn’t if you don’t want. If you don’t want that life. If you don’t want that child.”_

 

_“You know nothing” Charlotte said putting some bills on the counter._

 

_It was funny that people still used the bills to pay, but in 2050 the rate of online scams increased at the point that people stopped used credits cards. In 2050 was the year when was registered the gravest online scams in history. All the money of all the banks of Marley disappeared from the accounts. A grave economic crisis began, many people committed suicide because they couldn’t afford even the minimum expenses. Many Industries failed and no one had idea how to fix the problems. No one accepted to use credits cards or to have their bank accounts details on internet. No one trusted anymore. Even then, after almost fifty years, people didn’t trust internet with their money anymore. Specially after most of them saw the advantages in that situation. Their purchases, their movements… were no longer traceable. There was more privacy._

 

_“I know that for a moment you wished for your son not to exist, so that you could be free to wear a nice dress, weak make up and come here to drink and flirt with a man. In that moment, you wished you son not to exist”_

 

_“I’m leaving, have a shit night sir”_

 

_Charlotte left the pub and started walking back home. She had enough for that night and she should have listened her head when it suggested her to remain home. She couldn’t wait to come back home, change and sleep beside her boy and hold him tight._

_That man had no right to tell her those things. She and Tom had problems, even thought he had no idea, but she knew they could find a way to be happy again. Their son… he knew how much he was wanted and loved by his parents too. She had nothing to worry about on that front._

_She realized someone was following her when it was too late._

 

_“Are you following me ?”_

 

_“I know you’re upset with me. I only want to be sure you arrive home safely”_

 

_“Go away, before I call the police…” said Charlotte turning around, determinate to ignore the other._

 

_“I’m sorry I upset you, but I told the truth. Your son doesn’t know whether he’s wanted or not. He never sees his father, he probably doesn’t remember his face. He looks at you and he saw a dissatisfied woman. He saw that woman wearing a dress and leaving him, like his father did.”_

 

_“I’m not his father. I always come back, he knows”  
_

_“Does he ? Does he know that his father will come back home ? If he only sees him leaving ? Does he know he wants to be his mother ? Do you still smile when you look at him ? Does he feel loved ?”_

 

_Charlotte stopped. Why was that man asking her those things ? They were no his business. She was sure that her son that his father hadn’t abandoned him_

 

_“You can’t look you son and can’t smile to him because he resembles his father more than you and every time you look at him, all you can see is that man who surrounded you with silence and boredom”_

 

_“No, it’s not true”  
_

_“He’s destroying your present. He’s supposed you make you happy, but he’s making you feel miserable and he also left you with your child”_

 

_“Two people are needed to have a child. My son is the greatest joy in my life”_

 

_“You know, children are like names, they are a prove of someone’s existence. If we kill them, we kill the future of someone’s name. We put an end on their existence. No more future… no one who will carry his father’s name”_

 

_Charlotte started trembling._

_Those eyes… they were unsettling her. The man was complete calm and composed, like he was talking to her about his daily routine instead of… of…_

_Charlotte understood what the other was suggesting. What the other was trying to tell her. That she didn’t deserve to raise her son alone, that she deserved more consideration from her husband. That she had only one life to live and her marriage was ruining it, ruining her present._

_She didn’t want to consider it that way, but the man was right. She was feeling suffocating, due to the silence and the void that her husband left behind every time he left her to go back to work. Tom didn’t even disturb to call her, or to send her a message. He simply disappeared and when he appeared… he didn’t talk with her. Not like he used to do it…_

_He didn’t love her… like he used to do it…_

_She didn’t exist for him…_

_She meant nothing for him…_

_She wasn’t interesting like his research…_

_She was, to put in Tom’s word, that one more electron that wasn’t needed for the atom to reach the balance. She was that one electron… She and her son… her son… Her… son… that looked so much like Tom. That… son… whose name now she couldn’t remember…_

 

_“Tom doesn’t deserve someone who carries his name, if he himself is not suitable to protect him from any danger. What if someone bad harm his son ? What if someone kidnap him ? What if his son gets ill and no one is there to take care of him ?”_

 

_“Why are you telling me this ? I’m his mother, I can take care of him”_

 

_“This is a cruel world” simple explained the blond man “Children shouldn’t born in such a terrible world, specially when there’s no one there to protect them. If we really want to do something for their happiness is to set them free”_

 

_“Free ?”_

 

_“Free from our own selfishness and weakness. They feel when we don’t love them… They feel it and they die. The question is… will you let Tom’s absence kill him… or will you save your son yourself ?”_

 

_Charlotte felt the ground missing under her feet. Was Tom… killing their baby with the absence ?_

_Was her son dying because he believed that his father didn’t love him ? That his father was never home because he wasn’t important enough ?_

_Wasn’t she enough to make her son feel important and loved ?_

_No… she wasn’t… because she left him too… alone… that night. She left him too. Alone, and defenseless. What if someone had stormed into her house and killed her son ? Or kidnapped him ? Or raped him ? Where was she ? Where was Tom ?_

_Tom didn’t deserve a son, who resembled him so much, who carried the name of an absent man._

_Now she understood, why she was so unhappy… because she wasn’t a good mother, otherwise she would have realized that Tom was killing her happiness and her child’s as well._

_Tom didn’t deserve them, didn’t deserve someone who waited for him, someone who loved him. Someone who was his future, if Tom was ruining their present._

_Tom couldn’t kill their son, but she… she…_

 

_…_

 

“ _Now do you understand ? What she did ? She killed her son’_

 

_‘_ Lord Tybur… he…’

 

_‘You’re focusing on the wrong thing. Have you seen what she did ? She killed Tom’s present and future. She killed his family and someone who would carry on his lineage. As those mad people did with us’_

 

‘What… what do you mean ?’

 

_‘There’s more than one reason if I asked you to come here. To make you realize that we don’t have a past. To have a past, someone has to know our names, has to know where we came from. Luckily or unlikely for us, the same people who knew our past, were the same who took it away, Who used us. Those people now are looking for you’_

 

‘They want to bring me back to cage’

 

_‘Exactly. Tom was the only remaining link they have. That was why we need to find those documents. That’s why I made you did what you did. We need to destroy our past, or we will never have a future’_

 

‘Tom didn’t have a future anymore. How could someone have a future without a past ?’

 

E2 realized more and more how ignorant he was of the world.

He started understanding it when he was walking in that crowd street. Everyone knew what they had to do, but him. Everyone knew where to go to find what, what to say to get what… how to dress or talk but him.

He knew nothing and it hurt, because he really hoped not to feel so isolated out from his white cage. He still didn’t understand how could a mother killed her own son, for revenge. He wasn’t so naive to believed that humans were pure and good, he witnessed their cruelty, their selfishness, what they were able to do achieve their goals. Like creating a clone of someone else and locked him up in a white room.

 

_‘I was hoping you would ask’_

 

E2 rolled his eyes ‘The few certainties I had, now are all destroyed’

 

_‘I don’t have to give you certainties. I have to encourage you to make questions to yourself about the world. Nothing in this world is white or black, right or wrong. There are always two versions of the story.’_

 

‘Okay… I’m not in the mood to reflect on my role in this world. What about Tom ?’

 

_‘Another lesson, everyone is replaceable. Any void can be filled. Tom replaced his son, by taking under his wing one of his youngest trainee. He treated this person like a child. Then he filled the void deeper by taking care of you like a son too. You were a substitute’_

 

‘Me and another guy, according to what you said. Another question remain to be answered to. Once I destroy my past, how can I be able to have a future ?’

 

E2 was really curious to know the answer. Eren babbled so much about the importance of having a past. Past was the fundament of someone’s life, without it, there was nothing more. No origins, no future. Or people wouldn’t care so much about knowing who they were and where they came from. E2 knew nothing, all he had were theories.

He wasn’t dumb enough not to understand that the people who knew his past were also the ones who wanted to destroy him, who wanted to use his powers to conquer and control the world. They were the only ones who knew his name, so they were the ones whom hold his fate in the palms of their hands. His and Eren’s as well.

But he was afraid of destroying his past, without even know what he was actually destroying. Was he giving up on the only chance he had to learn more about his origins ? His… mother ? His father ? What kind of creature would he become without a past ?

A non existent man ? A nobody ? He already was and it hurt so much. What was worst, if everything could be easily replaced, even a son, then there was no way to have a place in the world. No one is necessary, in the big scheme of things. Tom lost his wife and son and yet he was able to move on, eventually and to replace his son, not once but twice.

What was the point of living ? What was the point of existing if no one was enough to make someone else happy ? To be important for someone else ?

If all the love hold for someone could be cancelled by few meaningless words pronounced by a stranger man.

 

_‘I have a plan for it, I told you. We need to destroy our past, then we will destroys theirs together and once all our enemies will be dead… then we will rebuild our past, present and future’_

 

Eren seemed so convinced of his word that anyone would have faith in him. Eren could be an amazing leader, he had the charisma, even thought E2 couldn’t understand how could it be possible, since Eren had spent most of his life isolated. Maybe his charisma was connected with his powers too. Maybe he learnt it from the memories of some other titan.

Which remembered him…

 

‘Those titans, the one in the facility, they saw me. If some of theirs is a shifter they can…’

 

_‘I thought about it too. Don’t worry. I have a plan for it. Now, the documents first’_

 

E2 rolled his eyes again. He continued until the last door, where he found Tom’s study. It was quite depressing. It was full of boxes, on the pavements. There was an old desk, with the surface full of dust, without any personal object. It was such a mess…

Another thing that caught his attention was the lack of electronic gadgets, as if that place remained back in time. He searched in any box, but there were only old family photographs. certificates, old postcards, old sketching of Tom’s son.

E2 stopped for a moment. Tom wasn’t stupid, he knew that if he did something wrong, the first place where Tybur would come to look for him would be his old apartment. Where could he have hidden ?

 

_‘The best place to hide something is full view. Or something like that. Maybe is there but we cannot see it’_

 

‘Use your powers. Search in his memories’

 

_‘You were so contrary in spying Tom’s mind before…’_

 

E2 gritted and clenched his fist. He couldn’t believe that Eren chose not to be collaborative now that he needed his help. He checked all the boxes again, until he found an agenda. It was strange for two motives, it had been put into a boxes where there very old little fairytales books, the ones written for the children, full of illustrations, and those books were all old.

There was a notebook looked pretty new. The second strange thing was that the rimes of the report at events were the opposite of those of Tom’s visits, and the events were written with both uppercase and lowercase letters.

 

19:30 Pressure for tonight’s Event. Two people to call.

 

‘P. E2. P stands for project, of course’ thought E2. He kept reading.

 

_‘_ I found it. It’s it’

 

_‘Good, now open up your bag.’_

 

E2 did it. Inside it, he found documents, money and a pair of shirts and a gun. E2 wondered what he could do with a gun, since he had no idea how to use it and he probably didn’t even need it. His abilities… what he did… He was perfectly safe by himself.

E2 put the notebook inside it and then he closed the bag again. He put in order all the things in the boxes and then he left the study. He was impatient of leaving that house. He left like an intruder there.

 

_‘Not so fast. Remember, those titans’ve seen your face. They know about your existence. If there’s another shifter, they would know who look for. You need a disguise’_

 

‘What do you have in mind ?’

 

‘ _I will tell you. But first, there’s a mirror in the bathroom. I want you to see your reflex in the mirror, before I tell you what do to to disguise’_

 

‘Why should I see my reflex ?’

 

_‘I think you should see your face and in doing it, your true self. I want you to see what kind of creature you are now, to give yourself a shape. It’s useful to recognize you somehow’_

 

E2 shrugged. After all the weird things Eren ordered him to do, seeing his reflex on the mirror didn’t seem that terrible. It occurred to him that he’d never seen his face on a mirror, but he guessed that he had to look pretty similar to Eren. He knew Eren’s face pretty well.

His tanned skin, his turquoise eyes, his facial features…

He came to the bathroom and turned the light on. He arrived in front of the sink, he put his hands on the surface and looked himself in the mirror.

‘So that is me’ he thought, putting his a hand on the surface of the mirror. It was so weird, after all, that person was him but it was like getting someone for the first time.

Who was that guy in the mirror ? With that tanned skin, turquoise eyes and brown hair ? That guy looked so lost, so fragile, unaware and full of fear. He could also see innocence. The guy in the mirror had known the evil, or part of it, he was aware that the world was a dark place, yet there was something in him that was still clinging on the memories he had of Tom.

Tom that remembered him that there was good in the world, that there used to be someone who cared for him. E2 didn’t know if he liked what he saw in the mirror or not, he wasn’t ugly, or at least he didn’t think he was. He liked his eyes actually. There was something in them, a light that lacked in Eren’s, even though they had the same eyes.

First of all, he noticed that Eren’s eyes were always half closed, like he only saw half of reality, mostly the darkest part, or maybe because he felt like he had no ego, because he felt to detached from reality not to identify himself or maybe not to be identified by someone who looked him in the eyes. Eren was so mysterious under that point of view. He was also scaring sometimes.

Eren insisted that they were two part of the same person, but E2 really couldn’t understand him.

He looked at himself in the mirror and thought that he liked enough what he saw.

 

‘I see a child in the mirror, a child afraid of a world he doesn’t know, but also curiosity and I like him. I like me’

 

_‘It’s a good thing. I hoped you would like what you see’_

 

_“_ I still didn’t get why you asked me to look myself in the mirror’

 

_‘You will. Now, I’ll tell you exactly what you have to do’_

 

_…_

 

‘My head hurts so much’

Peaure couldn’t manage to keep his eyes opened. He had headache and backache, due to the explosion from before. He wasn’t even scared anymore, he only wanted to put an end on that pain. That blond guy had taken care of his superficial wounds and he didn’t seem intentioned to kill him, but he could never be sure, specially when he dealt with someone who worked for Tybur.

That blond guy looked young, even younger than him and surely he didn’t have physic of a warrior. He looked more like a toothpick, that anyone could break in two. His long blond hair made him look even younger.

With him there was that another blond teen. He didn’t look older than fourteen or fifteen. He was blond and had blue eyes. He looked nothing like the older boy, even thought they were both blonds with light eyes. The teen was sitting completely still next to him, at the point that Peaure would think he was dead. He had no idea that someone could remain still that way.

 

“Don’t worry, you will be okay soon” said the blonde guy looking at him.

 

Peaure didn’t trust him, specially with his camera. Was he delating the photos taken around there ? Peaure knew it would be futile, since someone, sooner or later, surely would notice the missing of Tybur, his entire family and the other people. They wouldn’t be able to hide the truth forever.

 

“Who… who…”

 

“Spare your energy. I do not intend of telling you anything”

 

Peaure would have rolled his eyes, if he had the energy and only now he noticed that he didn’t have his glasses, something that contributed to his headache and his dizziness. He almost regretted to have come there. He should have listened Roy and remained home, but he actually hoped he could do something good, for his compatriots, for himself, for his homeland. He failed and now he found himself on the ground, hurt, blind, unable to move or to fight to defend himself.

A part of him, hoped that Erwin would come there and take him home, another one, hoped that Erwin would leave him there, that he wouldn’t take any risk to compromise years and years of hard work and sacrifices.

If there was the slightest possibility of saving Paradise and clean its name, it was Erwin Smith, his calculating mind and his determination.

Of all people, Erwin was willing to pay the highest payment, his humanity, in order to avenge its home. Peaure hoped that was the reason at least.

 

“Smith… won’t…”

 

“Smith will come, he must.” Interrupted him the boy “He must” he said, more to convinced himself than Peaure.

 

‘He won’t come’ Peaure thought. Erwin Smith didn’t permit anyone to tell him what to do, to put him in the corner. He was too intelligent for anyone.

Suddenly the little boy at his side started looking around, like he was in search of something. Then he grabbed the other boy by the wrist, to caught his attention.

 

“Someone’s coming.”

 

“Who ?”

 

“I don’t know. The smell is not familiar. Again, you need to give me time for that”

 

‘That what ?’ Peaure thought. What they were talking about ? How in the world that guy was able to tell that someone was arriving there ? Maybe the kid was a shifter or had special abilities. He said that he needed time, maybe he still didn’t control his powers efficiently, maybe he was responsible for the explosion from before. Where were the other warriors ? Why wasn’t Magath with them ? Magath would never leave his warriors without supervisions. Was he… dead ? Were all the others dead ? If that was the case, why those two were alive ?

‘What if Magath and the others were betrayed ? By these two ? How could be possible that two boys could kill all the warriors ?’

More and more questions formed in his head.

 

“I know you’re hurt” said the boy looking at him, letting the other go “I’m sorry but we weren’t prepared for someone else. We don’t have medicines. When Commander Smith will be here…”

 

Peaure stopped listening to him. Those two were really convinced that Erwin Smith would be willingly come here only for…

 

“You came” affirmed the older blonde.

 

Peaure widen his eyes and blinked several times. All he could see, before to lose his senses, was a shape that vaguely resembled Erwin Smith.


	9. A dream to pursue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While many can pursue their dreams in solitude, other dreams are like great storms blowing hundreds, even thousands of dreams apart in their wake. Dreams breathe life into men and can cage them in suffering. Men live and die by their dreams. But long after they have been abandoned they still smolder deep in men's hearts. Some see nothing more than life and death. They are dead, for they have no dreams.
> 
> \- Griffith, Berserk

_PARADISE ISLAND 2077_

 

_“Ojīchan !! Ojīchan !! Look at me !! Look at me !”_

 

_A seven years old Armin had finally learnt how to ride his bike and keep balance for more than few minutes. Armin was reluctant to try to learn how to ride a bike at first. Despite his prodigious intelligence, he admitted that he was pretty lazy, or better, that he was frail and that he used it to excuse his refusal toward physical activities and sports. His grandpa didn’t seem to mind it though._

_He understood and accepted his introverted, clumsy and shy nephew and all his quirks, bur Armin wasn’t a challenging child after all. He was obedient, always impatient of learning new things in order to help his grandpa with houseworks, and to become more independent. He didn’t want to be a burden for his grandpa._

_Another reason why he accepted to learn how to ride a bike was because he knew how many sacrifices his grandpa made to afford it._

_So Armin was determinate to prove him his gratitude and one day, when he would be older and employed, he would buy his grandpa beautiful things. He would buy him a new house, close to sea, with a garden, just like grandpa’d always wanted._

 

_“Oh Armin !! I knew you’d hit it. Told ya you needed only a little practice”_

 

_Armin smiled, even though he and his grandpa didn’t have the same concept of little practice. Armin only had to look at his knees and legs to see patches and little scars. He laughed at his failed attempts not to cry every single time he fell from the bike. His grandpa was always ready to cheer him up._

_His grandpa came closer and caressed his hair._

 

_“I’m so proud of you. You’re such a good boy”_

 

_Armin stopped smiling. His grandpa shouldn’t be proud of him, after all, Armin was deceiving him, since he wasn’t actually appreciative of his gift at the beginning. He would have preferred if his grandpa had bought him another book, but now he was actually glad that his grandpa bought him that bike. Armin was glad he could prove to be able to learn how to ride a bike, to do something different than reading and consuming pages and pages of books._

_He was glad that his grandpa was smiling. Even though his grandpa’s face was marked with the signs of hard labors and age, even thought his hair were gray and few and his hands were callous, stubby and full of little scars,Armin considered him beautiful. He had such a beautiful smile, so warm, able to make Armin feeling so loved and protected._

 

_“I love you, grandpa” he said “When I will grow up, I swear, I will make you proud every single day. Because if you smile like this when you’re proud, then I have to make you smile like this forever”_

 

_His grandpa giggled and caressed his hair again “Oh, my boy, I will proud of you forever, because I know, you will make me smile forever. You make me so happy, Armin.”_

 

_It was his dream… his dream for both of them, to make his grandpa happy, to repay him for his fatigues. He and his grandpa lived into a shabby house near the forest of Dauper. His grandpa dream was to move into Shiganshina, a district on the south of Paradise, the closest to sea. Armin made it his dream as well, because there was nothinghe wanted more than to make his grandpa happy._

_‘My dream is to see the sea together with you. I promise, I will make you so happy’_

 

_…_

 

_MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY 15 SEPTEMBER 8:00 A.M._

 

‘So happy…’ Armin thought.

His grandpa told him those words when he was a kid, those exact words that had been tormenting him since he became a monster. Since he committed his greatest sin, abandoning the only person who had ever loved and protected him. He applied for a job to buy his grandpa a new house, with a garden, close to the sea, but then he became so overwhelmed with the research, the possibility of living forever, of becoming more than a lump of flesh and blood, that he started neglecting his duty as nephew. He abandoned his grandpa, he stopped visiting him, talking to him and then he left him to die.

Would his grandpa be proud of him ? Would he smile to him ? No, he wouldn’t. Armin was sure that his grandpa wouldn’t be able to recognize him. Armin himself didn’t recognize himself anymore. When he looked his imagine in the mirror he saw nothing but a monster, with foul shape and without a name.

Because Armin Arlert, the real one, died with his grandpa and all his broken promises. He wasn’t Armin Arlert anymore, his precious books were no longer a shelter where he could hide in shame. He could only count on himself and have faith in his new Lord and Master. That was the only reason why he accepted to get in contact with Erwin Smith.

According to Eren, he was the only one with the level of intelligence required to deal with Erwin Smith. Eren had been observing Erwin Smith since he learnt the man’s name and he knew that Smith was determinate to unveil the truth behind the researches conducted inside the laboratories of Tybur Industries. Armin himself admitted that Smith had all the requirements to achieve his goal, that man was persistent, intelligent, cunning and manipulative. All traits that didn’t make a man good, but that made a commander valuable and a valuable alley.

It wasn’t necessary that Erwin knew his role in the big picture.

His role in the big picture, was the only reason why he accepted to be captured by him and his men. He was surprised that Erwin accepted to meet him in person. For a moment that journalist,Peaure, almost convinced him that the Commander wouldn’t have come, that he would have stayed safe, at the cost of sacrifice a pawn.

His hands were both chained at the table and, even though he could easily set himself free, but he couldn’t wait for an interesting conversation with the infamous Commander Smith. He looked at the mirror in the interrogation room and smiled, he knew he was being observed.

He was right, Levi and Erwin had been observing that peculiar guy for fifteen minutes, since when he was left in that room in chains.

 

“What do you think ?” Asked Levi.

 

“I don’t know what to think. According to what he says, he’s been sending us files about the secret researches conducted on human beings, but he could invent it to save himself. He seems cunning”

 

‘Actually more than that’, Erwin admitted.

Armin Arlert had an attentive and analytical expression, he looked like the kind of guy who never acted reckless, who never let the instinct prevail over his rationality, which could be both a strength and a weakness. A strength because possessing a rational mind was always positive to solve complicated situation in minimum details, but also a weakness because it made everything complicated when something unexpected happened and the mind wasn’t prepared to front it. Armin didn’t look like the kind of person able to reactin front the unforeseen.

He was curious to learn more about that boy and the secrets he knew about the industries.

 

“What about the other boy ?”

 

“The kid ? Hanji’s visiting him. You ordered her to take blood samples, didn’t you ?” Asked Levi.

 

He didn’t need an answer from the other man to confirm his suspects. The little kid was a warrior, even though he was surprised that they were recruited so young, and Erwin hoped to find in his blood the serum or the vaccine, everything out of the ordinary. The little kid didn’t look scared of them or of the new surroundings. If not even Hanji and her crazy, maniacal expressions scared him, while she took blood samples from him, than Levi would not know wheter considering him brave or crazy. Maybe he was simply traumatized due to the explosion in the facility. He didn’t introduce himself but Armin called him Falco.

When they arrived, Peaure was already unconscious and still was, but Erwin ordered Mike to take his camera and control the pictures. Armin was the only one who had spoken a word so far and he didn’t seem scared either. He looked perfectly in control of himself, alienated from the rest of the world, like the dead of his comrades was something that didn’t pertain him. Maybe he should’t be so surprised, if Armin was actually sending Erwin secret files, then probably Armin stopped considering himself a warrior long before.

 

“I did. I hope she would find something useful”

 

“Do you think we can trust me ?”

 

Erwin smiled and said “I’m glad you finally consider yourself part of the Scout.”

 

Levi rolled his eyes “Cut the bullshit, I can always leave whenever I want”

 

“Really ?” Asked Erwin keeping his smile

  
“Really, under your nose. Now answer me”

 

“I don’t trust anyone. Not matter how much time you spend with someone, how many things you know about them, they can always surprise you, most of the time for the worse. I learnt the hard way not to let my guard down”

 

…

 

_PARADISE ISLAND 2073_

 

**_'Francis Smith, beloved husband and father. 2025-2073’_ **

 

_There was almost no one to attend his funeral, but not because Francis Smith wasn’t a lovely person. For Erwin, his father was the most lovely person he’d ever know._

_Francis Smith wasn’t the definition of an ‘attractive man’, few women would look at him twice to know better his personality. He was a well mannered man, cultured, who also weighed his words and treated everyone as equal, even those who acted disrespectful to him. Erwin wasn’t surprised, after all, his father was a teacher. He had to be patient with students, always, even with the naughty ones._

_He always spoke with that sweet voice , even when Erwin accidentally did something wrong. Francis preferred to make him understand his mistakes, give him explanations and then answer all his questions when Erwin had some doubts._

_Erwin wasn’t a stupid child, he inherited his intelligence from Francis, or so he thought. Because Erwin had done something stupid, terribly stupid, that resulted in his father’s death._

_There was no evidence, or proof, but Erwin knew that what happened to his father was caused by only one question, only one stupid question he asked to him. If he’d been more careful, now he and his father would have been home, eating and speaking with him._

_He wouldn’t be there, wearing his black elegant dress, with an unknown relative appeared from nowhere that was clumsily trying to comfort him._

_Erwin’d never met any other relative, expect for his father, for him it was like they were the only two people in the world and that was enough, despite his wife’s missing. For Erwin was enough, he and his father alone against the world was enough and so beautiful. His father was his home, everything and now he was gone and Erwin didn’t know what to do._

 

_“It’s so calm here.” Commented the man behind him “Francis always loved autumn. He wanted to be buried into a calm afternoon during this season”_

 

_“Yes, he loved this season” simply commented a 8 years old Erwin._

 

_There was something his father loved more, though. Truth. His father had a dream, to pursuit the truth, at any cost. What truth he had no idea, no yet. He knew that his father had a lot of secrets, that his mother left him because of this. His seemed simply reserved, but he hide a lot of secrets, regarding his childhood and his real family._

_Erwin noticed when there was something strange around him. His father’d never mentioned one member of his family, his father, his mother, or siblings. Another reason why his mother left him was because she felt she couldn’t trust him, because she felt that Francis almost didn’t love her at all. That Francis never opened up with her about his thoughts, about his worries, that he purposely excluded her from a part of his life._

_Erwin felt like that too, like his father didn’t trust him enough and that sometimes it hurt. Only in that moment, he realized why his father was so wary, because the betrayal was always behind the corner and it came from the most unexpected people. A friend, a comrade, or even a son._

_His own son killed him, his own son betrayed his secret and that sin would persecute Erwin forever._

_He would never forget, and he would never forgive himself. The only thing he could do, from then, was to find a way to grant his father’s wish, to make his dream come true. He would find out the truth about his childhood, he would learn the true about his past. The truth, a dream, was the only thing he’d left of his father._

_He looked around and admitted that it was such a beautiful day, perfect for a picnic or a walk in the park. The calm around him reflected the calm he was was showing off, against the storm of emotions he had inside. Someone would tell that that was the day when Erwin Smith sold his soul to the Devil, or that in that occasion he made the first step toward the eternal damnation._

_Erwin only knew that when he came back home and looked himself in the mirror, he could no longer recognize himself, all he saw was a broken child, emotionless, with something dark in his eyes. A monster that was beginning to grow inside him, that from then would be feeding of his soul._

_In front of him, only one goal, only one destination._

 

_…_

 

“It seems you’re talking for experience”

 

“I am” said Erwin, then he entered inside the interrogation room without adding anything.

 

The blond Commander closed the door behind him, then he remained there, taking some seconds to observe the boy. Armin didn’t seem to have acknowledged his arrival, or maybe he was simply ignoring him.

 

Erwin sat in front of him and said “Armin Arlert… is this your real name ?”

 

Armin rose his gaze and looked at him, curious and asked “Why shouldn’t it be ?”

 

“Because when I solved the anagram, I checked in any file or documents your name. Your name figured only in your application form for the Warrior Unit, but according to the data when I received the first file, you sent it to me one week before to be part of the warrior unit”

 

“I bet you have an interesting theory for this” commented Armin.

 

“You faked your identity to investigate privately the Warrior Unit, or you’re someone important. The other warriors figured in pictures of important events, their names figured in important documents, some of them also signed for random projects. Yours only figure once.”

 

“You have a third theory”

 

“I searched for your name, before the Warrior Unit…”

 

‘Of course you did’, Armin thought. He had considered the eventuality, he did the best he could to create an identity before to infiltrate the Warrior Unit, but he knew that there was a hole of seven years to fill. He was officially dead in the famous incident in 2090, but he knew that, due to Mr Tybur’s paranoia, the documents about the identities of people who worked in Paradise facility were only handwritten, so there was no way to go back at him, which was both useful and dangerous. How could he explain why he’d never existed ? Or how could he explain why he looked like he was twenty instead of someone closer to thirty ?

He was 27 years old, but the time spent as mindless titan had slowed the normal aging process of his cells, a process that continued normally only when he became a Colossal Titan. He had a plan for both those eventuality, but he needed to be careful nonetheless. ErwinSmith wasn’t a fool.

Armin wouldn’t be surprised if he ordered one of his man to take blood samples from Falco, in order to see if he the serum was running through his veins.

Falco didn’t, Armin on the other hand did, but he wasn’t scared to be discovered. He needed someone to study the serum with, he needed to improve few things and find a way to make it less intrusive.

The only reason why all the warriors had short life was due to uncompleted researches about the nucleus.

Eren was able to transmit to his subjects incredible abilities and the closer they stayed to him, the stronger their abilities were, even though doing that way, Eren easily controlled their will and sometimes, they could barely distinguish themselves from him. That was another reason why Armin needed efficient instruments, item and a laboratory to find a way to elaborate a new serum. Eren asked him to do it in order to control his powers when he was with them.

His friend confessed to him that sometimes his power was overwhelming, that it took fully control over him and he himself could no longer tell the difference between himself and the others. Armin couldn’t understand, no one could understand Eren, and he had no clear what he talked about most of the times, all he knew was that he had to help him.

 

“You’re someone who doesn’t exist or someone who doesn’t want others to exist.”

 

“Is your brilliant conclusion ?” Asked Armin.

 

“Not exactly. A man who wants to hide his past could be successful until a certain point. I made some researches, because I know that not all the names of the scientists figured online. Some names were handwritten on registers, all of them destroyed in 2095.”

 

“Such a scrupulous man” commented Armin.

 

“I've made many researches all night, while you were here”

 

“So you didn’t make me spend the whole night here only to sate sadistic tendencies of yours”

 

“Not at all. I made some researches and I found your last name, of course it could have been fakes. You can imagine how shocking I was when I found out a lead. I found out about your grandparent”

 

Armin furrowed. How could he find his grandpa ? Armin admitted that, while he was willing to destroy any trace of his existence on earth, he didn’t have the strength to do the same with his grandpa. He didn’t want the whole world to forget about him as he had done for five years. Cancelling his grandpa’s name was too cruel. His grandpa deserved to be remembered, to be cried for, to be someone, to exist for someone. Armin couldn’t take that from him too. Not after all the bad things he did to the most important man of his life.

His humanity, his love for his grandpa wasn’t a mistake, even though it put him and his identity at risk.

 

“Jacob Arlert, he was your granddad right ?”

 

Erwin put a hand inside his trousers’ pocket and grabbed a picture from it. He put it on the table between them and let Armin looked at it.

The atmosphere became suddenly unbearable, at least for Armin, who was no longer glad to continue the conversation. All it took was one picture to make him come back in 2077, when things were easy, when his grandpa smiled at him everyday. When all he wanted was to make him happy. When he looked at the picture, he could only see the man he betrayed. It hurt. It hurt so much, worse than his bones that broke and snapped at each transformation. It was a pain he hadn’t felt in a long time. He thought he had forgotten his grandpa’s face, sometimes Eren used his powers on him, to make him remember, but he always felt a sense of bitterness and something else. Something he couldn’t describe.

 

“He was.”

 

“So you’re Armin Arlert, born in 2070. Your parents are the explorers Maya and Atlas Arlert, correct ?”

“Correct”

 

“I couldn’t believe it. According to your file, you should be almost thirty. Why do you look so young ?”

 

“Ding ding ding, you’re close to hit it”

 

“You have the serum” concluded Erwin remaining impassible.

 

“I was originally a failed experiment. I made a mistake and I paid the consequences. Five long years as mindless titan”

 

“How can you be a failed experiment if you were able to shift back at some point ?”

 

“My body didn’t adapt to the serum. It was uncompleted and too invasive. The few who survived that version of the serum died after few months, a year if they were lucky enough. The serum is still too invasive, that’s why all the shifters have a short lifespan. Believe me or not, but all shifters are, in the end, failed experiments”

 

“What makes an experiment successful ?” Asked Erwin.

 

Armin didn’t answer, because he honestly didn’t know it. What made an experiment successful ? What proved a theory correct or incorrect ? When could it be further falsified ?

What would make a shifter perfect ? What made Eren perfect ?

The first thing Armin thought about Eren is nihilism. Eren was the embodiment of nihilism, not because he was ignorant of the world, but because there was a void inside him that kept growing and annihilating everything our him.

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 2095

 

_‘Where… where am I ?’_

_Armin didn’t remember to have felt such pain in a long time. He felt all numb, as if he’d just woken up after a long dream. He couldn’t move his limbs, he could barely keep his eyes open. It was like the darkness was trying to drag him back, where all his nightmares were waiting for him. In front of him, behind him, around him, all he saw was an eternal night._

 

_‘Wake up’_

 

_Who… who was taking to him ? Whose voice was that ? It sounded familiar. It made him company, he felt reassured by it. Who was talking to him anyway ? Where was him anyway ? He remembered nothing. Why could he smell grass and smog ? Something was surely burning around him, it was suffocating. He himself was seething, like his own body temperature was burning him from the inside. And it looked like his own body was producing steam. How could his body produce so much steam ?_

_How did he end up there ? He didn’t remember anything._

 

_‘Concentrate. What’s your name ?’_

 

_That voice in his head… again…_

_What was his name ? What… was… his… name ?_

 

_‘My name… is… Armin Arlert…’_

 

_‘Where did you come from ?’_

 

_‘P… Paradise…’_

 

_‘Paradise ?’_

 

_‘Paradise’ he confirmed. Who was he communicating with ? How could he do it through his mind ? Humans couldn’t do something like that, their minds weren’t so elevated, never would be._

 

_“You’re not human anymore… Armin”_

 

_That voice…_

_He looked up and saw a silhouette through the steam, but he was unable to catch a glimpse of his face. He wasn’t afraid though, that person, whoever they were, was making him feel protected and safe. That person exercised on him a sort of control and his body responded to his presence. Who was him ?_

 

_“Here” said the other person, holding his hand to him._

 

_Armin took it and cling on it, like God himself was trying to bring him back to life, holding his hand to him. It was like resurface from hell, like he finally opened his eyes after that long nightmare. When he was able to see at his savior’s face, another feeling filled his heart but he had no name or definition for it. All he knew was that he needed that person, that he was loyal to him._

_In front on his there was a boy, that looked so familiar but also so unfamiliar. Who was he ? Why did he feel so many emotions toward someone he did not know ?_

 

_“Who…?”_

 

_He was going to ask him his name, but something in his eyes made him stopped. Like he was begging him not to ask him that question. It was the only emotion he could see in those eyes. There was nothing else. It was like that person wanted to be recognized by him but at the same time wanted him not to say anything that proved his existence. As if the other was so used to be a ghost, a silhouette, a shape without features, that he feared to be something. To be defined._

 

_“Do I know you ?” He asked._

 

_“Our paths crossed, five years ago. We were destined to meet again.”_

 

_“I… don’t…”_

 

_“You are Armin Arlert, you came from Paradise Island. Who are you ?” Asked the guy._

 

_“I’m… I’m…a scientist. I work and live here. I was about to come back home, to start a new life. I… made a promise to someone…”_

 

_“Someone special ?” Asked the boy smiling to him cheering._

 

_Armin nodded. He was sure that he made a promise to someone, surely that person had to be important to him but he couldn’t remember who. He felt like something was missing._

 

_“Can you smell it ?” Asked the other boy._

 

_“Can I smell what ?” Asked Armin._

 

_“This inviting smell of apple and cinnamon. Your grandpa used to cook a delicious apple pie. It was your favorite. Your grandpa used to prepared you those giant cups of chocolate with cinnamon, when you had nightmares. He always knew the way to improve your mood” said the boy taking his hand._

 

_It was only after that contact that he could smell the perfume of apple pie and cinnamon. Suddenly he felt much better and he could think clearly, everything was so much clearer. He was Armin Arlert, his parents left him when he was five, his grandpa then took his full custody and raised him like a son. His grandpa cooked apple pie once a month and prepared hot chocolate when Armin woke up from a nightmare. His grandpa couldn’t afford expensive things, they weren’t poor, but Armin hadn’t grown up surrounded by toys and branded clothes, but they were happy. The day of his birthday, his grandpa prepared a chocolate cake and gave him a present, usually a book, because he knew Armin loved reading. When he was fifteen years old, Armin started giving private lessons to younger children, to gain few money to buy all the necessary for the school by himself. He finished high school one year prior and won a scholarship for one of the most prestigious University of Paradise. He got a doctorate and then he applied for a job for the Tybur Industries. He thought that he was finally close to achieve all his goals, but it was then that he forgot his promise. To make his grandpa happy._

_During that period he rarely got in contact with him, he had no time to visit him and he forgot to buy his grandpa a new house close to sea. He wanted money only to buy a new house close to sea… He tried to atone for his mistake, but it was too late. He committed another mistake and he was turned into a monster. How long… Where…_

 

_“Eren…” he whispered, leaving the other’s hand._

 

_“We’re in 2095. I’m sorry, but all Paradis was evacuated in 2090 after the incident you caused. Your grandpa… I don’t know if he’s dead or not but surely you won’t find him on this island”_

 

_“So, I shifted back in my human form only to be welcomed into an empty home”_

 

_He lowered his gaze and noticed his bare feet. Only then he realized he was completely naked and in front of Eren. He blushed and crossed his arms, trying to cover himself._

_Eren smiled, then he handed him a long dark green coat._

 

_“Here” said he._

 

_“Thanks” murmured Armin, grabbing the coat and wearing it._

 

_“About the void, you can fill it with someone else. Do you remember me now ?” Asked the other trying to mimim a smile._

 

_“I do. How could you be free ? What happened ?”_

 

_Eren closed his eyes for a moment, when he reopened them, they were gold. Eren indicated his eyes with a finger, to indicate Armin to look him in the eyes. Armin did but he felt something strange about his eyes, like some sort of energy that quickly accumulated and made them weird._

_Then he felt a buzz inside his head and suddenly he knew what had happened in those last five years. The incident. The evacuation. The political conflict. The warrior unit. The serum. Isle Langar’s death. Everything until that moment._

 

_“How can you do this ?”_

 

_“You’re the scientist” said Eren pouting “You’re supposed to give me the answers for my abilities”_

 

_“Five years ago I had no idea you could do something like this. It was like our minds merged for a moment and became one. Then your memories became mine and vice versa”_

 

_“I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t even know when it started, maybe I’ve been capable of doing it since ever. The rare time when I slept, sometimes I dreamed weird things and they regarded people I knew nothing about.”_

 

_“Eren, why didn’t you tell me anything about this ?”_

 

_“We were always under surveillance and sincerely I don’t want them to open my head to study my brain. When you were gone, there was no one I could trust.”_

 

_“Well, what did you find out ? Something about yourself ?”_

 

_It was then that Armin realized he’d just asked another wrong question. Eren assumed a void expression. A void different from his, a void that couldn’t be filled. A void that was slowly growing inside, devouring Eren day after day.Eyes half closed, empty, emotionless, like all the life and light had been absorbed from them. Rigid posture and thinned lips._

_Armin felt the same sensation from before, that the person in front of him was… something he couldn’t understand._

_Was he really Eren ? The same Eren who begged him to teach him how to read ? To tell him things about the outside world ? Who wanted nothing more than to be free ?_

_Eren looked so different. What had happen to him in five years ?_

 

_“Eren, what…”  
_

_“Nothing. I simply realized that to make our dreams come true it will require more time and hard decisions have to be made”_

 

_Eren gently grabbed his hand then Armin didn’t know what exactly happened, he only knew that for a moment he didn’t feel the ground under his feet, that he felt like the wind was transporting him somewhere else. Everything stopped when he fell on the ground and realized that under his hands and legs there was sand. They were on a beach. He stood up and admired the sea._

_It was so beautiful, Armin didn’t remember it to be so spectacular. He came closer and let water washing his feet. He was feeling so good, free, after all that time._

 

_“It was our dream…” he whispered “To see the sea together. I’m happy”_

 

_“It’s the first time I see the sea. I used to think that I would have been free by this point. That seeing this could mean to be finally free, but…”_

 

_“But ?” Armin turned toward Eren and gasped._

 

_There was something wrong, terribly wrong in Eren. In the way he was looking at the sea and pointing his finger. Armin knew what Eren was pointing, where was pointing._

 

_“Eren, what have you done ?” Asked Armin, suddenly afraid to hear the answer._

 

_“Look at the sea…” said Eren“Tides are turning. Across the ocean, there we will find our enemies. There I will find…”_

 

_“Find what ?”_

 

_Armin started shivering. He didn’t like where all that was going. He didn’t like the look on Eren’s eyes. He was sure he wasn’t looking at human person, Eren looked more like something else, or maybe he was simply seeing Eren for what he really was. Something he couldn’t figure it out. An unsolved puzzle. A riddle without solution. Maybe it was good that way. Tybur Industries had killed thousands people, even more, were able to create a venom and spread it, only using Eren’s blood. Eren was a living weapon that needed to be safe and hidden from the world, but for the moment, if that weapon, that monster, was the one to lead them toward a new, brighter future, then Armin wouldn’t stop him, he had no the means. Eren could overpowered everyone he wanted. Armin wanted to stay close to him though, partially for his curiosity, as a scientist, Eren was a rare and unique specimen, but also because Eren was important to him somehow. Armin considered him a friend,_

_Eren smiled then he grabbed his hand._

 

_“Think about what happened here in 2090. You think you’re the cause but you’re not. It’s theirs. They corrupt everyone and everything with their ambition and greedy. I saw everything. Your grandpa and most of the people who used to live in the north had been imprisoned for five years. The news of this incident hasn’t spread yet, we’re ahead”_

 

_“Ahead for what Eren ?” Asked Armin in whisper._

 

_“For war, to reclaim your home, Armin. They didn’t try to fix your mistake, they used it, so they used you too. Why do you think no one tried to stop you back then ? Do you really think, no one saw you ?”_

 

_“I tried to be careful…” whispered Armin_

 

_“Isle knew about your little theft as soon as you left her laboratory. Armin they knew what you were about to do and they took advantage of that. Look what they had built…” said Eren indicting the flames and smoke coming from the facility “…ruin”_

 

_“What about the other half of the populations ?”_

 

_“In exile, even thought they didn’t know the truth, of course. All they knew is that they had to leave their homeland. All the world is convinced this whole island is infected.”_

 

_“I still don’t understand…”_

 

_Eren smiled “You only need time to elaborate all the information I shared with you. Don’t worry about anything for the moment. I simply wanted to warn you about my intentions. I would be really glad if you decide to follow me.”_

 

_“So that’s what you mean when you say that tides are turning. You want revenge”  
_

_“I want answers and yes, I want to be free. I broke my chains but those who put them on me are still alive and they can always imprisoned me again. I can’t take that risk. That’s why I completely destroyed the facility. All the proves about my existence were there and now they’re gone and with them all the people who knew about me”_

 

_“You’re wrong. Every single researcher that works for Tybur knows that there’s a nucleus that leads all the titans”_

 

_“They know there’s a nucleus. Not what it is. I have the proofs of that”  
_

_“How ?”_

 

_“Elaborate the informations and stop asking silly questions”_

 

_“Well, you seem to have everything under control and also to have clear ideas. You wanted revenge”_

 

_“I want to be free, Armin. I want to be sure that one day I will live into a nice home, with red roof, yellow walls, the windows and a brown door. If houses like that still exist, but I don’t know and you know why ? Because I’ve spent all my life locked up into a white room, excluded from the rest of the world.”_

 

_“Eren, I know that…”_

 

_“No” interrupted him Eren “You know nothing, but you will. When you finish to elaborate all the memories. I don’t expect you to join me now, but I hope you will. I hope you’ll realize that this is your war too”_

 

_What caught his attention was that Eren was calm while he was speaking about all the things taken away from him. He didn’t seem angry, or sad. There was no emotion on his face, so what was he fighting for ? Why ? It looked like Eren was merely exposing him a thought he had had for a long time, not an intention of fighting against a pharmaceutical Giant._

_Maybe Eren did not know what was meant, how it was like killing someone, how those kind of experiences changed a man forever. Or maybe he knew too well, at the point that he rationally decided that the cost was worth to be paid._

_What did Eren know about war ? What did he know about being guilty of murders ? About to have hands dirty of blood ? Did he even care ? Did he realize what he chose to become ?_

_Eren didn’t know, if he did, he didn’t care. He wanted something, something he could only find on the other side of the ocean._

 

_“Why is it so important to you ?”_

 

_“Because I want to be free from this void inside me that can only be filled through others, like a parasite” said Eren “From this curse, this curse that was keeping me away from the world. That’s eating me from the inside, day after day. To break it, I must to kill all my enemies. There’s no other way”_

 

_Eren lowered his arm, but he was still holding his hand. Armin didn’t know what to say, but he was glad that Eren gave him some time. There were a lot informations he needed to elaborate, first of all that five years had gone wasted. He had been a mindless titan for five years, in those five years, half of the Eldians had left the island forever. In the remote possibility that he managed to come back home, the possibility not to find his grandpa there, waiting for his return, was high, even certain. He would look for him, he needed to know what happened to him. He needed to know if someone took care of him, if his grandpa succeeded in buying a new house close to sea, even without his useless selfish nephew. He wanted to know if he was still alive, if there still was a family out there for him, a purpose to pursue that wasn’t war._

_He looked at Eren, and thought that maybe his friend could be enough. Eren could be his family, but he couldn’t move on without knowing the truth. Without the truth, he would never be completed. He couldn’t be himself. Truth was all he had left. He needed to rebuild his past, to save his future. If Eren was his future, then it would be, but only after he got all the answers._

 

_“The sea is beautiful though. Thanks for enjoying this moment with me” said Eren looking at him and kissing him on the cheek._

 

_Armin blushed and promised to himself to warn Eren that kissing another boy on the cheek wasn’t conventional in their society, even though he doubted Eren would care._

_Even though he lost everything, his family, his job, his dreams, his identity, he was glad that to have still Eren in his life._

 

_…_

 

MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY

 

“Transcend. Be something beyond any imagination. A God. A monster. The Devil himself. Eren Krueger, the first inventor of the serum, had a philosophic view of his creation”

 

Eren had changed a lot in those last five years, Armin noticed. He asked to start with their lessons. Eren asked him to teach him how to read and write, he loved to discuss with him about topics important to him.

Armin noticed that Eren was perfectly capable of reading and writing

 

“About Krueger, what do you know about him ?”

 

Erwin was really curious to learn more about the man, it looked like his name was all had left of the man on the Earth. His childhood, his homeland, his family, all the informations about him were gone. Erwin found out about him only through the oldest files of the serum. That was strange. Why someone should take the trouble of erasing all the informations about a dead man ? There was something about him that didn’t have to be reveled to the the world.

 

“He… his colleagues didn’t know much about him either. He was a mystery. The few people who knew something more personal about him are dead. Only one is alive, but he’s hidden somewhere. Krueger’s colleague, Doctor Grisha Yeager”

 

“Why those people had to die ?”

 

“I’m not sure, what I’m going to say, it’s based on hypothesis. How much do you know about the conflict between the National Democratic Party and the Communist ones in Paradise ?”

 

“That after Karl Fritz accept to drug half of Eldians populations in exile with him, the entire population split up in three parties. The monarchy, that ruled over the north of Paradise, while the south was governed by the two parties, so what ?”

 

“Karl Fritz signed the Liberio treaty, a pact of non-interference and alliance between Marley and Paradise. Most of the populations of Marley were conquered territory that were under the control of the Eldian Empire. In that occasion the National Democratic Party created its foundations. It happened in 2021”

 

“I still don’t get how this private lesson can help me to learn more about Krueger”

 

“Not much is known about him, but if we do the math, we can easily tell that Krueger was born around 2026, year more or left. He was in his early forties when he created Ymir serum. Nothing is known about his past and family. It’s like he didn’t exist before his admission as scientist in 2058.”

 

“You’re not telling me anything new”

“Marlow Tybur founded the National Democratic Party of Paradise, that sooner became the Democratic Party of Marley. Marlow knew something dangerous about the royal family, something so important to convince Fritz to go in exile on Paradise with half of the population, or at least that what was told to the few who know”

 

“Who knows ?”

 

“That it was nothing but a conspiracy. Karl Fritz and Marlow Tybur made a deal. Marlow Tybur wanted to establish democracy in Marley and be recognized as hero. Karl Fritz wanted to create a kingdom on his own. Wanted to be seen as a martyr and a savior. He wanted to create a new Empire, Paradise. Both of them didn’t take in consideration that not all people would agree with them. Idiots”

 

“I still don’t get what this has to do with Krueger”

 

“As I was saying, it’s just a theory, I only need proves, but the Fritzs and Tyburs had been business partners for a long time.”

 

 

“How could it be possible ? The monarchy was obliged to abdicate. The entire royal family was killed”

 

“That’s not true” replied Armin smirking “Bodies were found, supposedly belonged to the royal members, but the truth can be twisted, you know it better than anyone. The royal family was still alive and I’m sure about this”

“Why ?” Asked Erwin furrowing.

 

He was really starting to believe that that conversation was useless. He wasn’t interested in political plots. He knew that Paradise government had been weak since the moment Karl Fritz left half of population back in Marley. He knew that Paradise Island was divided in two parts, one loyal to the National Democratic Party and the other loyal to the Communism Party, who wanted to establish a government formed by the elite, able to rule over the entire island and powerful to take back the lost territories in Marley.

 

“Subject N° 0022118. Frieda Reiss. Daughter of Rod Reiss, legittimate King of Paradise Island of North”

 

…

 

PARADISE ISLAND 8:15 a.m.

 

Frieda was sitting in front of a mirror and she was calmly combing her hair. Useless, since her serum allowed her hair to remain perfectly straight and without knots. She looked at the mirror and snorted. Whoever who looked at her would think to see a beautiful ethereal creature. All she saw was a monster and she used to be convinced that nothing could have messed with her more than hitting puberty.

Her father, that pig, wanted her to get marry soon after her eighteenth birthday with a rich man. When his friends came to visit him, he showed off his trophy daughter and she was obliged to put it with the maliciousness in their eyes. They literally took her clothes off with their eyes, but what disturbed her the most in those evenings was… her. That woman, that whore, that took her mother’s place at the side of her father.

‘Pig…’ she thought.

She put her hairbrush on the toilette make up and stood up.

She had no idea why she hadn’t thrown away those useless things, but combing her hair helped her to free her mind from useless thoughts.

She was living into one of the many abandoned houses close to the facility, where other people used to live, another family, another pretty girl with long hair.

Frieda’d never come back home, not even once. Not even to be sure that all his past was buried underground, where only worms lived. The mere thought made felt suicidal.

 

‘Ehi, come here.’

 

Ymir communicated her through her mind. Frieda didn’t answer, but she would go there. She needed to stay close to someone, someone that she couldn’t mistakenly think to exist only inside her mind. When he remained alone for too long, then things started getting dangerous. She may was the oldest of the shifters, but she started training with her power only five years ago and sometimes her memories were so confused and mixed, at the point that reality and imagination were no longer separated by any rational barrier. Everything could have happened as couldn’t have. She could have been somewhere, as she couldn’t have.

Her memories of her past were clearer than his present, that sometimes looked more like an illusion, despite she was living it. How could something that was real in that moment looked faker than a memory ?

Maybe because she knew who she used to be and she had no idea of who she was anymore.

Frieda knew who gave her life, who were her mother and her father. That she had siblings, now all dead. No… maybe one was still alive…

Lost in her thoughts, she ran where her new siblings were waiting for her.

They were in laying on the grass in the yard of another abandoned house. The grass was tall and the lawn was not well cared for. No one of them was an expert of gardening.

There Marco, Ymir and Sasha were waiting for her.

 

“It’s breakfast time…” whispered Marco to her.

 

“Oh yes…” she whispered laying next to him.

 

Only then she realized that it was morning and that the sun was shining brightly. Their main source of sustenance, the only one they really needed. Humans needed three or four meals everyday in order to survive, a shifter only needed three hours of sun.

The sun provided them everything they needed to generate their totipotent cells, even though it would be hard to explain why, no one of them was a doctor or a scientist. Armin was studying them but neither he had an explanation.

The first prototipe of the serum was based on plant cells, maybe their cells accommodated themselves with the plant cells of the serum. It was a mere hypothesis.

 

“What were you doing ?” Asked Sasha.

 

“I was combing my hair” she answered closing her eyes and enjoying the sunlight “Where’s Eren ?”

 

“His majesty is not here” replied Ymir.

 

Frieda was smiling. Ymir persisted in calling Eren his ‘majesty’, even though the latter didn’t catch her sarcasm, nor that he cared. He allowed them to give him names, not matter how ridiculous they could be. Eren never got angry with them anyway. It was always surprising to witness at his imperturbability.

 

“He is” replied Marco “Even thought we couldn’t see him. He’s here through us”

 

Marco was actually afraid of that side of Eren’s power. He didn’t need to be psychically not a place, all he needed was one of them to be there and learn things in his place. They we his eyes, his limbs, his ears, the channels through Eren entered in contact with the world.Marco often wondered what they were for Eren, if he considered them as part of him, or something that he needed for the moment only to get rid of them when they weren’t useful anymore.

Eren scared him like anyone else did. Eren was the one who gave them their powers, he could always took them back, when they needed them the most.

The knowledge that Eren could invade their mind scared him, made him wary and felt possessive of his thoughts, specially the ones he didn’t want to share. He had no place where to hide with his mind. No one of them did.

 

“Why do you say this ?” Asked Sasha

 

“It’s just the way he lives, through us, through the titans” said Marco “He knows the world throughus. We’re his new white room. He uses us to protect himself from the world”

 

“He doesn’t seem to need help from anyone. Especially us. He can take what he wants from us every time he wants” said Sasha playing with his ponytail.

 

“He doesn’t seem to be someone afraid of the world either” said Ymir.

 

“Not afraid” said Freida “He’s not afraid and even if he is, he wouldn’t realize.”

 

“He manages to surprise me” said Marco “If I were him, I would have tried to commit suicide thousands times”

 

“Why ?” Asked Sasha

 

“Because basically he doesn’t exist. He’s no one. He has no name, his whole identity is based on what he got by us, our memories, our past. Our lives define his present. Who he really is ? He doesn’t know, I don’t know, you don’t know, no one does” explained Marco “It’s sad… what has been done to him”

 

“You’re right” said Ymir “But were our lives any better ? Are we able to look ourselves in the mirror and tell who we are now ?”

 

‘Probably not’ Frieda thought.

It was the first thing they all did as soon as they shifted back to their human forms. They all look themselves in the mirror, traced the features of their face with their fingers on the surface, trying to to notice any change. If they had a new mole, if their hair were of different color, if their eyes, their nose, anything was out of place.

No one of them aged of a single day, physically they looked exactly like the day of their injection. They were changed in some other way. If they closed their eyes, all they felt was pain. The broken bones, ripped limbs, the blood… the buzz… the hunger…

They ate people, devoured them, the failed experiments. They used to be mindless titans, they used to be failures themselves. They used to be human failures. They were the garbage of their past society.

 

“Do you think that someone will recognize us ? Someone who used to know us ?” Asked Sasha “Our parents ?”

 

“I don’t think they will recognize us. I barely recognize myself. Furthermore… I don’t know if it’s the same for you but…” Sasha interrupted herself, almost afraid of finishing her sentence.

 

“Furthermore ?” Asked Marco.

 

“Nothing” said Sasha “I want to change topic. We should stop talking about our pasts”

 

“Why should we ?” Asked Frieda “Eren already knew everything we wouldn’t want someone like him to know about us. Why freaking out now ?”

 

“You trust him too much” said Ymir

 

“He remembers me of someone I used to know” Frieda shrugged.

 

“One of your dead siblings ?” Asked Ymir.

 

“Ymir !” Reproved her Marco.

 

“No, just someone that casually appeared in my life” replied Frieda playing with her hair.

 

No more question was asked. It was funny if they considered that they spent most of the time together and yet they still refused to share with each other the darkest parts of themselves and their past, even though they could easily lean everything they wanted to know, only Ising their powers but they didn’t. They’d never dare.

 

“How do you think Armin’s going ?” Asked Sasha

 

“I wouldn’t worry about him. If there’s someone able to get the upper hand in any situation it’s him” said Marco.

 

“He hasn’t lived in the real worlds for five years. He has no idea how much he world changed” replied Sasha.

 

“I think He learnt It as soon as he joined the warriors. What kind of impression he made on you Frieda ?”

 

“He knows what he had to do. There’s nothing else I have to say”

 

Frieda smiled. If someone passed and saw them in that moment, they would simply think that they were ordinary guy in the middle of an existential crisis, typical of the guys of their age, who didn’t know who they were, afraid of the future, from the the possibility it offered. Probably theirs was the age when the parents encouraged their children to get high grades, to send their applications forms for the college They couldn’t relate with them. They perfectly knew what future offered to them and what they needed to be in order to achieve their goals.

Sasha could play with her ponytail like an ordinary girl, but they knew that there was a growing hunger inside her that she could no longer control. Eren and Armin weren’t able to give a rational expiration for that. No one of them felt the necessity to eat humans, or to eat in general. For them the sun was more than enough to survive. Sasha was an exception and she was the mindless titan with the major number of eaten victims among them.

Marco could look like an ordinary gentle boy, with calm voice and the sweet attitude but deep inside he maybe was the one who suffered the most for their condition. He felt his own body like a trap and Frieda caught him more than once doing dangerous thing. All of them had noticed it. He was also the one who spent more time than the other looking his face in the mirror and no of them understood what he hoped to see every time.

Ymir… Ymir was an enigma. She told them that she was an orphan, that her name was given to her by some stranger that needed her for a job. She didn’t enter into details, but all of them could imagine what king of job could be offered to a teen int he slums. She told them that she accepted it, otherwise she would have starved. That man used and betrayed her. From him, she learnt not to trust anyone and to live only counting on herself and put herself before anyone else. She acted like a real bitch with them, she was sarcastic and offensive, but they all knew she behaved like that to protect herself. They also knew that they couldn’t trust them completely, that she remained selfish and that when the occasion itself presented, she would leave them, not matter what.

Frieda… Frieda…

 

‘What about me ?’ She thought playing with her hair ‘Nothing, I was supposed to be…’

 

…

 

_Paradise Island September 2060_

 

_“I don’t want to go” whispered Frieda while she was combing her hair._

 

_That night her family would throw a party for her birthday. They didn’t have other relatives, so she hoped that the party would be something informal, but sofrtuntely for her it wasn’t so. Lord Tybur accepted her parents’ invitation for her birthday party and Frieda learnt that only two hours ago, when her mother entered inside her room without knocking and throw on her bed a million dollar dress. At least she now knew what to sell in case she decided to put in motion her plane to escape from that madhouse. At least her siblings would know how to actually entertain her._

_Her mother picked a pearl grey long dress, with a pair of gloves with the same color. Her mother wanted her to style her hair, but she refused. She felt more confident when she knew she could hide her face with her hair._

_She knew that his father invited some other of his friends too and she already knew that most of those pigs were going to spend the entire evening drinking, ignoring their wives and taking off her clothes with the eyes._

_Someone knocked at her door._

_  
“Frieda, mother wants to know if you’re ready” said her sister Abel._

 

_“Some guests’ve just arrived, hurry up” said Florian._

 

_“I’m coming” she said putting the hairbrush on her toilette._

 

_She stood up and adjusted the dress with her hands, then she walked toward the door where her sisters were waiting for her._

 

_“Big sister you’re so beautiful !!” Exclaimed Abel._

 

_Frieda smiled then she kissed Abel and Florian on their cheek, then they went downstairs. As she expected some of her father’s friends were already there with their family. Frieda was relief not to see Lord Tybur among them. That man was kinda weird. He’d never done or said anything impolite or inappropriate to her, he was always elegant and perfect, in everything he did. He always smiled politely, even with people who acted rudely or disrespectful to him. He only reacted when someone misbehaved with his sister. A part from this, it seemed like he always found something to appreciate in everyone and that he was always in the mood to converse about any topic. He was very erudite and seemed to have an answer for everything._

_Everyone was supposed to be fascinated by a man like him, but Frieda was always wary of people who apparently looked too perfect to be real. Of course, she would never dare to share her suspicious with her parents. His father’d mostly banished her if she dared behaved inappropriately with Lord Tybur._

_‘I wonder where my brothers are’ she thought looking around the room._

_As soon as the guests noticed her presence, she was showered by their ‘happy birthday’ and ‘congratulations’, some simply approached her with a smile to shake hands._

_She smiled politely with all of them, kissed on the cheek their toddlers, allowed their oldest sons to kiss her hand and their daughters to hug her for a time that appeared infinitive._

_She didn’t see her siblings anywhere until her mother came close to her. She apologized to their guests, then she asked Frieda to join her family to welcome Lord Tybur and his family._

 

_“She’s so beautiful !”_

 

_“I wonder what kind of queen she will be”_

 

_“Her uncle Urie has no heirs. She will inherit the throne and become the queen of the north”_

 

_“Being a queen it’s not prestigious as it used to be, since she will rule only half of the island but…”_

 

_Frieda rolled her eyes at those comments. Her father pretended that the power of their family was as strong as it used to be before the Eldians abandoned Marley, but she knew that most of the nobility considered them a joke. The people inside that room would never forgive the weakness act of being sent in exile with half of the populations. What was worse, was that despite their grudges against their royal family, their remained incapable of resisting to gossip about them and to observed them closely, waiting for them to make another mistake, in order to make her uncle to abdicate._

_Her family was waiting for her in the elegant living room, her daddy was shaking hands with Lord Tybur who, strangely, wasn’t accompanied by his sister as usual, but by two men that Frieda’d never seen before._

 

_“Oh here she is. Frieda come here”_

 

_Frieda came closer to her father, who put his hands on her shoulders. She smiled gently to Lord Tybur._

  
“Good evening Lord Tybur”

_“Happy birthday to you, princess” said Lord Tybur kneeling in front of her “Allow me to tell you, you’re splendid tonight”_

 

_“Thank you” she smiled politely._

 

_“Here’s my present for you. I hope you will appreciate it” said Lord Tybur handing to her a black box._

 

_She took it and then she opened it. She gasped. It was a beautiful diamond bracelet. She took it and looked it for a moment before to wear it. She wasn’t impressed by it and she didn’t like diamonds so much. Almost all his jewels were of diamonds, apparently all the people who looked at her only saw a soon queen to be. A woman that had to be strong and resistant like a diamond, beautiful and showy, wanted and envied by everyone._

_Was she that kind of person ? Was she like a diamond ?_

 

_“Thank you, Lord Tybur. Your present is lovely” she said smiling._

 

_“I’m glad you appreciated. Now, allow me to introduce you my friends. This is…”_

 

_Frieda looked at one of the man, the one at Lord Tybur’s left and it was then that she felt something strange inside her heart._

 

_…_

 

“Frieda !! Frieda !!”

 

Ymir was calling for her and only then Frieda realized that she was crying and that she couldn’t stop. Eren always reproved them about brooding over the past, that due to the serum most of the memories about their past could resulted confused and tricky. Eren explained that it was caused by the temporary loss of consciousness after the injection of the serum that turned them into mindless titans. When they were mindless titans, the serum caused them a light amnesia. They had no access to their memory systems, because they had no self consciousness. When they shifted back, it took minutes, even hours, to regain self consciousness and remember their names, but Eren warned them that to remember everything they had to be patient. He also warned them that at the beginning their memories could be fake, or mixed, because all their minds were connected to him, so when the memories went back they needed to learn how to recognize which memory belong to who. It also explained why she couldn’t focus on details, like the color of her make-up toilette, the embroidery sewn on her dress, the face of the guests, the furnitures of her house. She could only described them generally, she remembered that her living was elegant, the color of her dress and the faces of her parents, but never how they were dressed or if they were sad or happy. She only knew that they were there with her, that was all.

 

“Nothing, I lost myself in the past. I was thinking about my seventeenth birthday and then I saw…”

 

“Don’t. Eren doesn’t like when we pronounce his name” said Sasha.

 

“Why ?” Asked Frieda crying “His name… my memories of him are the only proves of his existence. I need to…”

 

…

 

_“I hope you will enjoy my present, princess”_

 

_Frieda opened the white box and she saw a cute and elegant pearl bracelet. She took off the diamond bracelet and replaced it with the pearl ones. She loved it. Pearls were so…_

 

_…_

 

 _‘_ Stop it’

 

The buzz and Eren’s voice dragged her out of that memory again. She couldn’t see the man’s face, but she knew who he was and she wanted to remember him. He existed for her, that pearl bracelet existed for her.

 

‘It’s the only favor I asked to you, be careful when you think about the past’

 

She nodded, even though Eren couldn’t see her, defeated. If she didn’t obey, Eren would erased those memories that were precious for her. She couldn’t blame Eren, he was only trying to help her. She knew that that person in her memories maybe could be someone else and Eren didn’t want her to get attached to some stranger, or to some illusion. He always repeated them to be wary, but she knew that that man was real, that somewhere deep there was the memories of his face and name. That man… the man of the pearl bracelet… where was him ? She knew it wasn’t Lord Tybur, but someone else. Someone else gave to her the pearl bracelet, someone who affected her, so deep that she couldn’t get over him.

 

“In your opinion… Am I a crazy person to be in love with a memory ?” She asked.

  
“No” answered Marco “Aren’t we all in love with a memory ?”

 

“Are you ?” Asked Frieda

 

“We are” answered Sasha “Wether we remember their or face or not, it doesn’t make them more real”

 

Frieda nodded, then she wiped her face clean with her hand. She shouldn’t get distracted by a past that she couldn’t have back. Her goal was the future, her dream was freedom. Nothing else mattered. She looked at the sun, their source of strength and power, and she was tempted to turn herself into a titan and pretend to be able to touch it.

Titans were future, they were closest to sun than any other race, they were the new apex of the alimentation chain, they were above any other creature and they were going to rule the world. She would be the queen of a new era.

That was her life, what she needed to do was to fight, to survive, to kill. Life had in store for her only blood and pain and if she didn’t want Paradise to become her grave too other than her prison, she needed to be less a person and more a weapon. There was no other kind of existence, not anymore.

 

…

 

MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY 8:30 a.m.

 

Levi was getting tired of all those useless chit chats. Did Erwin capture that brat to hear from him a history lesson ?

He rolled his eyes and sighed.

 

“This is getting boring” he whispered.

 

He didn’t care about any of that. He didn’t care why the royal family accepted to be sent in exile with half of populations, he didn’t care about the feud between Communism Party and the Democratic. That was the past, a past that couldn’t be changed. All he cared now was the present, what he needed to do or to become in order to protect himself and the people who were depending on him. He learnt the hard way that it wasn’t possible to save everyone, but he needed to be sure that he could be enough.

Was he enough ? That night… That night something strange happened to him, it was undeniable, he felt a strange force growing inside him but he knew, he knew that that dance wasn’t leaded only by him. There was someone else who was dancing with him that night, someone who was commanding the titan, someone who suborsconsciuslytold him exactly what to do.

Who was the other person ? Was he getting crazy ? He needed to know. Erwin didn’t need him there, so he could go to speak with Hanji.

He went to her lab and stopped in front of her door. He didn’t know her so well, but he was sure that she was twisted and unpredictable. He put his ear on the door, trying to catch any alarming noise, but he couldn’t hear anything.

He knocked, just gain more time in case he needed to run away. Vain hope, since the door was literally slammed against the wall.

 

“LEVIIIIII !! I WAS WAITING FOR YOU !!” Screamed that crazy woman.

 

Levi wondered if her pharynx was going to jump from her mouth. Again, he wondered where Smith could have found someone so crazy like that woman.

 

“Why are you screaming like a damn banshee, you shitty four glasses ?” He asked.

 

She started laughed manically then she grabbed him by his arm “Come with me and I’ll tell you”

 

He wasn’t reluctant to follow her inside her personal Pleasure Island, but he was relief when he saw that Moblit was there too. He was writing down something on a paper while he was observing something on the microscope in front of him. He was so concentrated not to even get himself distracted by his superior’s commotion. Levi almost pitied him, wondering for how long he had been working under that twisted woman.

 

“Good morning Levi” he said in a calm voice.

 

Moblit looked at him like he was saying ‘I apologize for her behavior’. Hanji ignored their exchanges of glances, she went close to the monitors on the other side of the wall and tapped something.

 

“I guess you’re here to know if the blood samples taken from you gave some results” she said while she was still tapping bottoms on the monitor.

 

“Did they ?”

 

“They did” she said, then something appeared on the screen “Here, I noticed in your blood a genetic marker I’ve never seen before.”

 

Levi looked at the purple cells Hanji was indicating on the screen and in his ignorance he didn’t see anything so different from the other cells on the screen. He said nothing and waited for further explanations.

 

“… I was confused at the beginning, but then I analyze all the files Armin sent to us. So, now I want to ask you a question.”

 

“Which is ?” Asked Levi impatient.

 

“Is it possible that you have been infected with the serum ?” Asked Hanji looking at him.

 

“What ?”

 

Was she fucking with him ? Levi wasn’t in the mood for that shit. How could he not know whether he was infected with something or not ? He gasped. He was aware that a lot memories regarding the years spent in the orphanage and in reformatory were confused. He saw most of them only in his nightmares and he wasn’t always sure whether they were real or not, he only knew they were there, inside his mind. Could someone back then infect him with the serum ?

‘Impossible…’ he thought even if a doubt was forming inside his mind.

 

“I’m not sure since I lack of a pure sample of Ymir serum, so my theory is solely based on what I read in the files. But according to the datas about the ‘Ackermans’, these people were immune to the serum” continued Hanji, who was unaware of Levi’s worries.

 

“So ? If I’m one of them why the marker ?”

 

“Always according to what I read, Ackerman was used to indicate a person that not only is immune to the serum but that is in possess of a peculiar neurons type.”

“Neurons ? What does my nervous system have to do with the serum ?”

 

“Nothing to worry about, in simple words there are people who can handle better the Ymir serum thanks to their DNA and other that are immune for the same reason. Some people have antibodies stronger than others, I think this is the difference, but without the a pure sample, I can’t confirm anything”

 

“That kid, Armin, he confessed to be infected, I’m sure that…”

 

“WHAAAAAAAAAT ! What were you waiting to tell me ? I need to take samples from him immediately !!! IMMEDIATELYYYYYYY !”

 

She had the crazy look in her eyes again and Levi feared that she would run straight toward the interrogation room. Indeed Hanji tried but Levi stopped her by grabbing her by the arm.

 

“I don’t think Erwin would be glad to have his history lesson interrupted by a psycho”

“Ehhh !” exclaimed Hanji“How can you tell me to wait ? Finally the serum is in the same building as I am and you tell me to wait ? I need to take samples”

 

“Major, you should listen Levi.” Said Moblit even though he was aware that any attempt would be futile.

 

“How can you two be so calm ? Don’t you want to know how the serum actually work ? Don’t you want to know why you’re so different ? What happened to you that night ?” Asked Hanji to Levi.

 

Of course Levi wanted to know, he needed answers. He needed to look himself in the mirror and be sure that he nothing inside his body would turn him into those monster. He wanted to be sure if there was, even slight, a possibility that he was saved from a future as a cannibal. When he closed his eyes he still saw those monsters grabbing people with their fatty hands and ate them. He wondered what would have happened to him, if it wasn’t for that force inside him. That force that controlled his entire body. But he wasn’t alone.

 

“I want to know. I want to know who was with me” he said “That night, something controlled my body but someone controlled the titans”

 

“What are you saying ?” Asked Moblit.

 

“It’s only a sensation, surely Armin will be able to answer me but it was like my body reacted to something that night, something that wasn’t only inside me but also outside. I’m not sure how to explain it”

 

“That’s why we should hurry up and talk with Armin. The more we know, the more we will be able to defend ourself from the Warriors”

 

“First, we need to be sure we can trust him. You have no idea how much I want to open up Armin’s head with my head and have all the answers but still we can0t trust him. If he’s telling the truth it means that he betrayed the warriors and he could betray again, us this time”

 

“What could we possible give to him that Warrior Unit can’t ?” Wondered Moblit.

 

“No idea” answered Levi.

 

That was what he couldn’t figure it out. Tybur Industries could offer Armin all the means and instruments. If the Warrior Unit was his target, then he could have easily killed all the members while they were hiding and then disappear again.

That kid succeeded in disappearing once, he could disappear again and he was a shifter. They weren’t equipped to fight against a shifter. Armin had the upper hand and that was what worried Levi and should worry everyone as well.

 

“Where’s the other brat ?” He asked.

 

“He’s sleeping in the dormitories with Pure. Mike’s surveilling them.” Answered Hanji.

 

“I wonder if he’s infected too and the nature of his relationship with Armin” said Moblit “Someone would say they are siblings but they looked nothing alike”

 

“His name is Falco Grice, he’s the younger brother of another warrior recruit, Colt Grice. The two attended the party and then disappeared with the rest of the warrior unit. I hope for Falco that Cold managed to escape as well”

 

Levi totally understood her. He knew what it meant losing your family. Mikasa, his younger sister had been taken away from him few weeks after they arrived in the orphanage. He thought that with Furlan and Izzy things was going to be different, that he could have a new family with them. They had plans, they wanted to buy a new home in the center, live respectable in the standards of society, have more than one pair of shoes to wear and a have a washing machine to clean their clothes everyday but he lost them too. It hurt.

It hurt so much to be left behind again. When Mikasa was adopted, he was both happy and angry. Happy that she was going to be happy into a new family, angry and jealous that he hadn’t been taken as well. They only wanted Mikasa and now God only wanted Furlan and Isabel.

Even though that little brat was affiliated to warrior unit, Levi really hoped that he hadn’t been infected with that shit and that there was somewhere out there who was worried and lookin for him. In his heart, Levi hoped that Mikasa hadn’t forgotten about him too.

 

“Only Armin can tell us the truth. We can only wait”

 

“Fine” said Hanji rising her arms in a dramatic way “But at least sate my curiosity by explaining me further what you meant before, when you said that you weren’t alone”

 

Levi closed his eyes and think about a way to give sense to what happened to him that night, then something else came into his mind.

 

“Out flew the web and floated wide… the mirror crack’d from side to side…” He recited.

 

“Are you reciting something ? What does it mean ?” Asked Hanji confused.

 

“I don’t know how to explain this myself. All I know is that those words formed inside my mind but they don’t belong to me. I don’t even know that they mean. Are parts of a poem or something like that ?” He asked.

 

“Can you repeat them please ?” Asked Moblit

 

Levi rolled his eyes “Out flew the web and floated wide… The mirror crack’d from side to side…”

 

“The curse is come upon me, cried… The Lady of Shalott” continued Moblit.

 

“The Lady of what ?” Asked Levi confused.

 

“The Lady of Shalott, is a famous poem written by Tennyson. It’s pretty famous” explained Moblit.

 

“For someone who was lucky to attend school. The money I had were earned by little thefts and pit-pocking people and were mostly used to buy food and clothes. Sorry but I’m not the scholar type” replied Levi crossing his arms.

 

“I apologize, I didn’t intend to offend you” said Moblit.

 

“You can amend by explaining me something more about this Lady of Shalott. What’s her story ?”

“The poem tells the story about a noble woman who has been cursed since her born to live in a tower, completely alienated and isolated from the rest of the world. All she knows about the world it’s the reflex of things she can see in the mirror inside her room”

 

“Dramatic” commented Levi.

 

“Very” confirmed Moblit “If she dares to look toward Camelot, that somehow represents the reality, she will die. But one day she realizes that even though the tower protects her from the curse, it’s also imprisoning her. She realizes that she’s not living, only existing and that’s not enough anymore for her”

 

“So what ? Does she manage to break the curse ?” Asked Levi.

 

“In a sense yes. She turns toward Camelot, leaves the tower and crosses the river on a boat and she finally sees the world outside but the curse soon kills her and she dies singing on the river”

 

“So not happy ending ah ?” Commented Levi.

 

At least now those weirds words inside his head had some sense, he only needed to understand why they appeared without his will. It was the first time he heard about this Lady of Shalott, he was sure about it. His mother was a prostitute, she couldn’t afford many books, only the essential to teach to him and his sister how to write and read. In the orphanage it was more or less the same. It happened the same thing of that night, his mind connected with someone else’. Someone who was reciting inside his mind the Lady of Shalott.

 

“The person who connected with my mind surely knows the Lady of Shalott and surely knows what was happening that night.”

 

“Levi, how can you be so sure that there’s another person ?” Asked Hanji perplexed.

 

“I know that doesn’t make sense but I swear, I’ve never heard or read anything about this poem and suddenly a line formed inside my mind. That thought didn’t belong to me”

 

“If what you say is true, then maybe the Lady of Shalott is the first step to find this person. I follow my instinct most of the time and until now it never failed me.”

Levi thought for a moment that she was running too much. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to find this other person, he would be glad to know something more about the matter before to take any other decision. What if the other person was a psychopath ? What if the other person was a shifter or another monster capable of controlling his mind ? Or maybe his instinct was making him see things that weren’t real. Maybe he was only stressed. He didn’t need to look Hanji and Moblit to know that they were looking at him like he was mental, hell he couldn’t blame them. No sane person would heard voices in his head and say all that nonsense.

Maybe he only needed some rest.

 

“I’m tired. I’m going to take a nap. If you learn something new, please warn me”

 

“I will, see you later”

 

Levi nodded then he left the laboratory. Only then he realized he was really exhausted. He went to his bedroom. Erwin was kind to let him have his own room, Levi wouldn’t have felt comfortable to share his personal space with some stranger. He didn’t have anything valuable in there, since he hadn’t come back home, but still he cared for his privacy.

The room was simple, there was a one size bed near the wall, with a bedside table, a little closet and a desk with a chair. The bathroom was in common but it wasn’t a problem. Levi always assured to be the first to use it and that it remained perfectly clear. His OCD always increased when he started living into a new environment with people he barely knew. He remembered that the first months of cohabitation with Furlan were very hard, and Furlan wasn’t even as messy as Isabel.

Levi was used to sleep in worse places. He took his shoes off and lay on the bed. He closed his eyes and then it happened something weird again.

“ _Lady of Shalott… she had but a dream, to be care free. That dream killed her”_

 

Levi jumped and gasped. Again, it happened again, he didn’t imagine. Something, or someone communicated with him through his head.

‘The Lady of Shalott… again’ thought Levi. Maybe Hanji was right, maybe ‘The Lady of Shalott’ meant something important, maybe if it wasn’t another person, then it was his instinct, maybe he should follow that path. Or maybe he should just wait. He was afraid of that was voice inside his head, that was the truth, because he didn’t know what it caused. Who caused it. He promised to himself that he would inform better about the shifters and their abilities. If there was the slight possibility that one of them could communicate with him, he wanted to know if he was in danger and whether he could stop this connection if possible.

After all, it wasn’t his voice in his head.

‘That voice was… sad though’.

When the door closed behind him, Moblit sighed and looked relief that the man was gone. Levi was a scaring man.

 

“He scares me”

 

“He fascinates me. His DNA surely is interesting.” Said Hanji looking at the screen “I want to know how his blood will react to the serum. If there’s actually a connection”

 

“What if there is ? What if he has been infected and he doesn’t even know ?” Asked Moblit “He can be dangerous”

 

“My instinct suggests me to trust him and my instinct never fails. Also, he’s willing to cooperate with us and fight for our cause” said Hanji “Erwin saw something in him too”

 

“Erwin is not infallible”

 

“No, but he’s farsighted and cunning. No one can figure it out people so quickly as he does. If he took Levi here and put faith in him, then I will do the same.”

 

“Are you sure your judgments is not cloud by your scientific interest in his blood ?”

 

Hanji laughed hysterically and loud “You know me so well Moblit, but it’s not only for this. You know that too”

 

‘Yeah, I do’ thought Moblit.

Hanji and Moblit had known each other since university time They both studied biology so they attended the same courses, but they were not friends back then. Hanji was exuberant like she always was and people tended to avoid her. She scared people away, included Moblit, who was convinced she had some mental issues. Cruel and shallow to think about a person he didn’t know personally. After university, they ways separated again until they were both recruited by Erwin. Hanji accepted the offer quickly and without any hesitation. Moblit was more reluctant to accept to work for a man who was hiding from the society, also he used to think that Tybur Industries were’t involved in unethical human experimentations. Time proved him wrong, so in the end he accepted to remain there, to learn how to fight, how to to shoot, how to survive and to be Hanji’s assistant since she had more titles than him but also better intuitions. She had that something more that Moblit didn’t have.

Moblit learnt to appreciate Hanji, despite all her weirdness and her eccentric behavior, even though it was exhausting somedays and due to this he developed a habit of getting drunk very every time he had the occasion. Hanji was the one who took care of his hangover every time.

He sighed and then he started to write down the notes again.

 

…

 

LAGO CITY 8:30 A.M.

 

“Did you know ? It appeared that another incident happened in one of the Tybur’s facility, the one close to Lago” said a girl drinking her tea.

 

“Yeah, one of the many. Who knows that the hell those freaks with white coat are doing there. Surely they must be very incompetent” commented her friend drinking her coffee.

 

It was a sunny morning in Lago and everything appeared normal. People went out from their houses to go to work, there was traffic, people who yelled at the drivers in the front. Students that walked together to school and girls and boys who were enjoying their breakfast and other who ordered coffee to take away. It was like the city was pretending that the incident of the day before didn’t happened, or maybe they were simply hiding the fear that something could happen to them, like in Paradise or in Liberio and the news was not even broadcast on the international news, only in the regional and it didn’t appear on the newspaper.Everything was so calm and ordinary, maybe too much.

 

“Speaking of freaks… have you seen that girl ?” Asked the first girl pointing her finger to another girl who was sitting not far from them.

 

“Don’t point, it’s rude” said the second girl with indifference.

 

“Oh come on, she has been reading the menu since we arrived forty minutes ago and she seemed not to understand what’s written on the menù”

 

“Maybe she’s a tourist” said the second girl turning around.

 

“Who would want to come here after what happened yesterday ?”

 

“No idea. I’m going to buy a cigarette pocket and pay the bill, wait a second”

 

The first girl nodded then, when her friend left, looked toward the other girl again. Despite her weirdness, she was pretty. She had long straight hair, suntanned skin, beautiful green eyes and from what she could see, she was also in good shape. She was sitting just where the sunlight was and the girl wondered how the other eyes could not be disturbed by it.

‘Ich bin neidisch’ (I’m envious’) thought the girl finishing her tea.

 

‘What does she have to envy in me ?’ Thought E2.

 

Eren deceived him again by making him wear those clothes. The cultural boundaries between females and males still confused him, since he hadn’t had to worry about them for long, but now that he was surrounded by people and he could observe them personally, he could tell that the clothes he was wearing were for girls. He wasn’t angry because they weren’t make him feel at ease, but because Eren tricked him again.

For him, those clothes weren’t much different from the grey tracksuit he wore when he was imprisoned. He didn’t care for categories, not when these clothes could help him to hide and leave Lago as soon as possible.

He was wearing a brown short, with black high heels and he tripped on his feet different times, because he wasn’t used to heels, a black top and a long coat. Eren convinced him to wear a long necklace with a sun shaped pendant. He had his backpack on his knees, even thought it wasn’t so femminine, but he wasn’t an expert. Eren also helped him to change his hair. Eren told them that some shifters tended to have shorter or longer hair when they transformed, that their physical appearance changed, all he had to do was to replicate his transformation and tried to make his hair grow and darker.

 

_‘Superficial things. Women look that in other women. You’ll get used to it’_

 

‘For a moment I thought she realized that I’m not a real girl’

 

_‘You look the part, but you’re also pretty weird. Hurry up and order something, come one’_

 

‘I don’t know what to order. These foodstuffs look all the same for me and I’m here in the sunlight, it’s enough to nourish me’

 

_‘Pick something at random. You’ve never eaten any of this stuff, you can like them. We don’t need food but we do need to appear normal, the opposite of what you’re doing’_

 

‘What if I don’t like what I order ?’ Insisted E2

 

_‘Start with the classic, coffee and brioche’_

 

‘I don’t know’

 

_‘You’ve eaten food before’_

 

‘Yes, milk, eggs, braid, meat, salad, apples and when I was good biscuits. I grew up with that food, I know I like them’

 

E2 was a routine type and he missed to know exactly what he was going to eat at any meal. It was always the same. Milk and an apple at breakfast. Eggs and braid at lunch. Meat, salad and apple at dinner. Tom sometime brought him biscuits to reward when he was nice with the nurses. He would be lying if he deny to feel in difficult with all that freedom. He didn’t know the taste of that foodstuffs, he didn’t understand what was the point of sitting somewhere and order food when he didn’t need to eat and surely he didn’t need to embarrass himself in front of other people. He didn’t feel at ease.

 

_‘You need to learn how to behave around people’_

 

E2 didn’t want to learn anything. He hated being observed by other people, it made him feared that someone among them could realize that he was different from them, that he wasn’t normal and that he could ended up imprisoned again.

 

_‘Coffe and brioche, now’_

 

E2 rolled his eyes then he tried to caught the attention of a waitress but the waiter was faster. It was obvious as soon as he stopped in front of E2 that he wasn’t there only to take his order. He was devouring him with his eyes, taking off ‘her’ clothes with his eyes and E2 blushed despite anything. It wasn’t that the waiter was an ugly guy, he was actually pretty but E2 didn’t feel at ease under his gaze. Hell, he wasn’t even good at reading people.

 

“Hallo Schönheit !” (Hello beautiful !) Said the boy smiling charmingly “What can I get you ?”

 

“Oh… Coffe and brioche”

 

_‘Seriously ? She have been looking over the menu for almost thirty minutes only to order brioche and coffe ?’_

 

“Wha…”

 

 _‘SHUT UP !’_ Shouted Eren inside his head ‘ _Another reason we’re here it’s for you to learn how to distinguish when a person is actually talking with you and when they’re only thinking_ ’

 

E2 closed his mouth immediately and forced a smile, playing with his hair, like he saw few nurses doing in front of Tom. He hoped it was enough to look less weird in front of the waiter. That guy was looking at him stupidly and that was comforting, but E2 knew better than underestimate people.

 

“Do you want something inside ?” Asked the waiter

 

_‘Inside that little pussy of yours ?’_

 

‘Eren… what’s a p…’

 

_‘Ignore him. Answer nothing and then stop looking at him’_

 

‘But I’m not even getting what he’s asking’

 

_‘It’s a double sense. He’s asking what you want inside the brioche but he’s actually asking if you wants to have sex with him’_

 

‘But… I am a man’

 

_‘He doesn’t know’_

 

E2 was starting to hate that situation more and more, he quickly replying ‘nothing’ to the waiter then he gave the menu to him and turned toward the window. The more he was surrounded by those people the more he regretted to have abandoned his white cell.He was complaining too much, but he bet that everyone would have been doing the same in his place, because there was no way that someone could find solace into a reality they knew nothing about. He didn’t understand what people were telling to him most of the time and it made him feel stupid, it also increased that sense of alienation, like any wrong step he did only confirmed he didn’t belong there.

 

_‘She’s playing hard it to get. I like it’_

 

‘Hard to get it ?’

 

_‘It means that you’re not accepting his sort of courtship easily’_

 

‘Oh’

 

‘ _Give yourself time, you will learn. Humans are creature so predictable once you get to know them’_

 

E2 hoped with all his heart that Eren was right.

 

‘Why was that waiter courting me and not the girl sat in front of him with his friend ?’

 

‘ _Because you’re prettier and you looked more… helpless’_

 

‘What do you mean ?’

 

_‘I will tell you another time’_

 

E2 sighed. He started playing with the necklace he was wearing and in the meantime he was also observing the people around him. Their movements, the way they blinked, their minimal expressions, their posture, how all of them seemed to know exactly what to say or how. Surely they knew that foodstuffs written on the menu better than him and they also knew how to appreciate them.

Tom once told him that humans did unconsciously hundreduseless movements with their entire body, that when they were lost in thought they tended to furrowed, to to bite their lips, tap their fingersor play with their hair. The same was done in pressuring situation, every time people felt that something was out of their control. E2 wondered if he did the same. He also noticed that people used different vocal tones based on they were speaking with or the situation, for example when they were about to share a secret. Another thing that he noticed was that there were difference between what people showed off of themselves and their thoughts.

E2 had observed the two girls who sat in front of him. The first girl complimented his friend for her getting a job but in reality she was jealous of her friend and for a moment hoped that her friend would get fired.

What was true ? What she said or what she thought ? What was the true nature ? Who was real between him and Eren ?

Did he allow Eren to take control over him because, deep down, he and Eren aimed for the same thing ? Did Eren represent for him what that thoughts represented for the girl ? The truth, that other half face that had to remain hidden from the rest of the world.

 

_‘Thought is action in rehearsal. Sigmund Freud told it’_

 

‘What’s that supposed to mean ?’

 

‘ _That even though apparently thoughts has no result in reality, they actually does. It’s up to us to chose whether that results stay in our mind or not, but I think that in the end we have no choice then unleash them’_

 

‘Why ?’

 

_‘I’m not sure. I think we learn by experience, maybe you will formulate a different interpretation’_

 

“Hier” (here) exclaimed the waiter putting a cup of coffee and a plate with a brioche on it “Enjoy your breakfast”

 

“Oh, thanks” said E2 forcing another smile.

 

‘She’s very pretty’ thought the waiter walking away.

E2 didn’t blush that time. That compliment wasn’t referred to him anyway. He looked at the coffe and the brioche with curiosity.

The coffe emanated a strong flavor and he wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t used to strong smell but he was there to learn how to look normal. He took a sip of the coffe and he snorted. The taste was too bitter, maybe he should put some sugar on it. He grabbed a sugar packet and opened to put sugar in his coffee. The taste was better after that. Then he tasted the brioche and he liked it, he wasn’t fond of it, but the taste wasn’t bad.

 

‘I don’t like bitter coffe and I like the brioche. I know that about me. Let’s see what else I can learn’

 

_‘You will learn more and more. Lady of Shalott. It was her dream to know more about the world’_

 

‘Lady of Shalott… she had but a dream, to be care free. That dream killed her’

 

He closed his eyes for a moment and then something strange happened. He saw, for a briefly moment, the face of a young man with dark hair and pale skin. The moment didn’t last longer to see the man clear but he knew he saw him. For a moment their minds connected and he felt something weird inside, maybe the other man felt that too.

It was strange because he felt like he’d seen that man once before, but how could it be possible ? He only escaped yesterday. He was scared. What if the man now suspected that there was a shifter out there ? What was that connection ? If there was a connection, he and Eren needed to find out soon what exactly it was and if it could put them in danger, before the other man did. Who was the other man ? A shifter ? Was he a member of the warrior unit ?

 

‘Eren…’

 

_‘I don’t… I need to think…’_

 

…

 

MARLEY UNKNOWN FACILITY

 

“So… Frieda Reiss is still alive. She was one of the first to be turned into a mindless titan and after the incident on Paradise Island…”

 

“I don’t know if she was spared to send a message to Rod Reiss or if something else happened but what I know is that Frieda Reiss witnessed something that cost her her humanity.”

 

“I still no see any relation between the death of Frieda Reiss and Eren Krueger”

 

“Not sure about it, but my female colleagues sometimes loved gossiping about the scandal of Royal family. She was the only surviving member of the royal family and she was specifically requested to be tested with the serum by Lord Tybur. I found one of his reports in the archives of Paradise”

 

“Why Lord Tybur ordered her injection ? Why wasn’t she killed along with her family ?”

 

“I think Krueger faked Tybur’s signed. I confronted the sign on the documents about Frieda’s injection and the one on other documents and it was different. Someone else signed that paper, someone wanted Frieda out of their way or to save her. Someone related to both Lord Tybur and Krueger, since Lord Tybur was the one who provided the other with potential hosts for the serum. That’s all I know about Krueger but I’m willing to help you to learn more about him now that I’m human”

 

Armin was actually hoped that Erwin would accept to collaborate with him. Eren was convinced that the only way to learn more about their condition was to learn more about Krueger. Eren wanted to know the chemical formula of the serum Krueger injected to himself and to Grisha Yeager before his death, why it worked on Grisha and not on Krueger. What actually caused to Grisha and why the serum never actually activated any transformation in him. There was one problem, Grisha seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth and all the files about him got destroyed before they escape. Very frustrating.

Erwin instead realized that it was finally the moment to ask the most important question. He was really curious to find out whether Armin was going to lie or tell the truth. Erwin was a liar himself and he learnt how to recognize all the signs when someone tried to lie to him. He would have time to figure it out what was true and what wasn’t.

 

“Which lead us to the main question, how could you be human again ?”

 

Armin bite his lower lip. He expected that question and he knew exactly what explanation to give. He still didn’t know whether Erwin could be trusted or not. Experience taught him the hard way that no one was worthy of trust.

 

“There’s something about us that only appeared on handwritten documents, Lord Tybur was strict on this. There was something on Paradise that allowed scientists to control the mind of all titans, including shifters. It was called the nucleus”

 

“The nucleus ?” Asked Erwin furrowing.

 

“Yes, not particular original, but it’s not the point. The nucleus was, how can I explain, a sort of chip implanted in any titan through the serum. This chip manipulated on different level the brain activity of the titans, shifters are no different. Thanks to this chip they could implanted memories or take them away. They could take away a person’s identity and all those chips were connected to a source, the nucleus in Paradise”

 

“So… this nucleus is a… computer ?” Asked Erwin confused.

 

“It works like one, but I’m not sure myself. The nucleus is one of the biggest secret hidden on Paradise. When the facility burned, the nucleus burned with it and something happened. I don’t remember exactly but I know that Annie Leonhard was there with me when I woke up”

 

“Annie Leonhard ? Isn’t she a member of the warrior unit ?”

 

If there was one efficient way to lie, it was to include part of truth inside it, so that no one could tell what was true or fake. Erwin wouldn’t know anyway. All the documents about the nucleus went destroyed, no one could prove Armin was telling a lie. He didn’t plan to involve Annie in his story but he had no other choice. He wished he could have saved her, but they lived in a cruel world.

Erwin was actually having fun, really. Armin knew how to lie, definitively. If there was someone else in his place, he would have believed Armin’s words, but Erwin knew that something was wrong in his explanation. He was aiming to something, something Erwin would understand only if he kept Armin close.

 

“She was. She’s the one who attacked everyone in the hideout. I think that something snapped in her mind. I think that all of us hasn’t been the same since when the nucleus was destroyed. That’s why I need to find a cure’

 

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, after the destruction of this nucleus, Tybur Industries were no longer able to control the titans or the shifter…”

 

“Yes, I think that’s what happened during the party. Lord Tybur hoped to kill all major representatives of his industries because he knew they were planning to get rid of him. I think he hoped his sister would be able to control the titans but she failed, something went wrong and the almost everyone died”

 

Erwin couldn’t know, not even suspect, that there were other shifters out there. Armin didn’t want them to be locked up somewhere and Eren would never forgive him, also he didn’t dare to imagine what the latter would be able to do if he felt in danger. Eren was unpredictable, like the sea. One moment he’s calm and ready to welcome anyone in the water, the other moment he’s ready to cause vortex and drag down in the deep of the ocean everyone. It was what it made him so intriguing. Armin himself would spend his entire life reading inside Eren’s eyes to understand what was hidden behind them.

If he failed, Eren would kill everyone whom he considered an obstacle for his plans. Erwin wasn’t an obstacle, but he could become one at any moment, he was so cunning and smart and he was already investigating about the Tybur Industries.

Eren wanted him dead long before, it was Armin who proposed him a valid alternative, but he also knew he had only one chance, Eren didn’t allow any objections on it.

 

“I lost everything…” continued Armin “… so I thought. Now I have my will back and I’ve no intention of losing it again. I need to find a cure and in return I will offer all my knowledge on the serum”

 

“And all your knowledge about the Industries. I want those informations as well”

 

Armin nodded, then he destroyed the chains around his wrists and asked “Do we have a deal then?”

 

If Erwin was impressed, he hide it pretty well and Armin was almost relief that someone didn't look at him like he was a freak show, not that it mattered at that point. They both knew that there were other pending issues and that the other was hiding something. Their new relationship wasn’t based on trust or facts, but words and both were aware of Huw much words could be deceiving and more lethal than any weapon when used smartly. They both had their dreams to pursue and surely they were cruel enough to use and put the other at risk. Armin couldn’t deny he was intrigued by Erwin Smith and he couldn’t wait to start their little chess game, since he was sure to have finally found a worthy opponent. Armin knew he possessed all the skills to win, he had to, he had to protect what remained of his soul and he had to atone for his crimes. Not matter how many time he would deny, he wasn’t less responsible than the other scientists for what they had done to Eren. He used to be one of them and in doing so he failed himself, his principles, the one his grandpa taught him. He was a monster long before to become a titan, the serum only showed the world his true nature. He was a greedy person, ready to devour everyone who got in his way.

He didn’t realize that Erwin was the same. Erwin was as greedy as Armin.

Erwin had a dream to pursue and crimes he had to atone for. He failed the only man he should have never failed.

 

“Yes, we do have a deal”

 

They smiled when they shake the other hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello !! Thanks to everyone for reading or commenting my story. I hope you find the plot intriguing and I apologize for any grammatical errors you may have found in the script. I'm open for any correction or advice. Thank you again :))


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